BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced Friday that a Canadian man pleaded guilty to "bringing an alien to the United States at a place other than a designated port of entry."
In May 2019, the defendant, 46-year-old Edwin Ramirez-Cordones launched a boat into the Niagara River with two individuals on board that known to the defendant were not U.S. citizens.
The two individuals on board were identified as Leonardo Jiminez-De La Rosa and Rita Leida Montes Farfan. Ramirez-Cordones navigated the boat across the Niagara River to the US and landed at a dock in Lewiston, N.Y., a dock he knew was not a designated port of entry.
After Jiminez-De La Rosa and Farfan exited the boat, Ramirez-Cordones returned to Ontario. The defendant was to be paid nearly $9,000 for bringing the two individuals into the United States.
Ramirez-Cordones' sentencing is scheduled for May 19, 2023.
