This charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. The two alleged ringleaders of the smuggling enterprise Mezheritsky, Tetyana Komisaruk as well as Valeriy Komisaruk, Chernov, Vinitsky and Algart were also with multiple violations of a statute that outlaws smuggling aliens for profit. That statute imposes sentences of three years per alien with respect to the first two aliens smuggled, and five years per alien with respect to any additional aliens smuggled. For example, under this statute, Tetyana Komisaruk is charged with smuggling 22 aliens and therefore could face as much as 106 years in prison for these smuggling charges. An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.
Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The 12 defendants who have been taken into custody are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, May 21, in United States District Court in Los Angeles. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Border Patrol. Return to the 2001 Press Release Index.