Gladys Marina Caal Chen, 21, of Guatemala, pleaded guilty today to submitting a sponsorship application with false statements to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to gain custody of an unaccompanied alien child (UAC).
According to court documents, Caal Chen falsely stated in a UAC sponsorship application under the penalty of perjury that she was the UAC’s sister. The HHS-funded care provider discontinued its consideration of Caal Chen’s application based in part on concerns that Caal Chen misrepresented her identity and relationship with the UAC in application materials. Caal Chen was arrested on May 22, after law enforcement encountered her during a court-authorized search of a residence belonging to another illegal alien from Guatemala who was charged with crimes relating to UACs. Caal Chen was previously sponsored as a UAC by one of that alien’s co-conspirators who fraudulently used an alias. Caal Chen is also alleged to have lied to ORR in or around January 2024 in an application to sponsor a UAC using an alias. At the time of her arrest, Caal Chen lied to law enforcement by providing another alias, but she later admitted her real name was Caal Chen.
“This defendant defrauded and undermined a government program designed to protect children,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The investigative efforts that led to this guilty plea demonstrate that the United States and Joint Task Force Alpha will prosecute those who seek to take advantage of children, ignore the laws designed to protect them, and take measures to thwart our government’s efforts to ensure their safety.”
“Those who intentionally manipulate federal systems and programs to gain illegal custody of children are despicable,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “We will aggressively prosecute anyone who lies to federal authorities, and we will not tolerate actions that enable them to smuggle or traffic others – especially children.”
“This guilty plea underscores Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) commitment to protecting unaccompanied children from individuals who attempt to exploit the sponsorship process through fraud and deception,” said Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey of HSI Detroit. “False statements in these applications can and have placed vulnerable children at serious risk. HSI will continue working with our federal, state and local partners to identify fraudulent schemes, protect potential victims and ensure those who undermine the integrity of the process are held accountable.”
“Caal Chen abused the very program that is designed to help vulnerable children by lying and taking advantage of the system,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI. “The FBI will use every resource at our disposal to safeguard the government programs designed to help these children and to pursue justice against anyone who seeks to exploit them.”
“Fraudulently manipulating the sponsorship process for unaccompanied children not only violates federal law, it endangers vulnerable young children who rely on these protections,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS‑OIG and our law enforcement partners will continue to safeguard programs designed to protect children and will hold accountable anyone who seeks to exploit them.”
Caal Chen pleaded guilty to making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Sentencing is set for Nov. 23. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The HSI, FBI, and HHS-OIG Cleveland field offices jointly led the investigation with assistance from HSI’s Attaché team in Guatemala. Additionally, HSI’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking and HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and ORR, have provided valuable assistance. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and prosecutors from Guatemala’s Office of Public Ministry provided significant assistance in this matter.
Deputy Chief Christian Levesque and Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney/Senior Litigation Counsel Carol Skutnik and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward D. Brydle for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Analyst/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.
The investigation and indictment leading to the guilty plea announced today was supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s HRSP Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated prosecutors from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement/HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 483 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 436 U.S. convictions; and more than 371 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood.