HOUSTON
A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the female leader of a sex trafficking ring operating in Houston to life in federal prison.
A jury convicted Hortencia Medeles-Arguello aka Raquel Medeles Garcia, Raquel Medeles Garcia or “Tencha,” 68, on April 24, following a 10-day trial and about four hours of jury deliberations.
She was convicted on all counts – conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, conspiracy to harbor aliens, aiding and abetting to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Medeles-Arguello’s family members were also involved in this sex-trafficking ring that made millions in profits.
The sex trafficking involved as many as 12 victims who testified at trial. The twelve were rescued from the ring and testified regarding the horrors of their ordeals, according to officials.
They were recruited in their home countries, only to be forced into prostitution against their will in the United States, according to officials.
Some victims were as young as 14 when the traffickers recruited them, using fraud and false pretenses to lure them into the traffickers’ control, officials said.
“The importance of this case cannot be underscored,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. “These were human beings – women and children – who were treated as a commodity. They came from their home countries hoping for a better life, only to be enslaved and forced into unspeakable acts. This is a local, national and international issue, but also a humanitarian issue. We will continue to take action against these egregious offenders and seek to obtain the stiffest penalties in order to send a clear message that human trafficking will not be tolerated in this district.”
U.S. District Judge David Hittner also ordered Medeles-Arguello to forfeit 15 real properties and other assets, totaling $2.5 million that were the profits of the sex trafficking. The money will be used to make restitution to the victims of this horrible crime, officials said.
Testimony indicated that pimps recruited the young girls by convincing them they were in love, making threats to their families as well as threatening the girls themselves.
Testimony revealed Medeles-Arguello knew that many of the girls prostituted at her establishment were either underage or victims of the beatings by their pimps.
She testified and gave details about the horrific conditions she faced at the hands of the defendant and others, to include being forced into having sex at age 14 after she had come to this country in search of a better life, according to officials.
She described how she was forced to comply with demands at gunpoint and locked in a room. She was eventually impregnated by a “customer” and was moved to another area of the bar because she was not worth as much once she became pregnant.
Following the move, she found a way to escape with the help of a customer who had befriended her, officials said.
Evidence at trial indicated that Medeles-Arguello made more than $1.6 million in a 19-month period by supplying the upper floor of her cantina for prostitution.
The evidence further revealed that many of the prostitutes were either minors or forced to engage in sex acts at the defendant’s bar. The jury heard that Tencha had engaged in harboring illegal aliens, many who were forced into prostitution for more than 13 years.
All of Medeles-Arguello’s 13 co-defendants who were in custody plead guilty for their roles in the conspiracy.
Many admitted they worked for Las Palmas II, a cantina located in Houston. They all knew the cantina concealed, harbored and shielded illegal aliens who worked there from detection by law enforcement and that the owners were profiting from such concealment.
Some co-defendants pleaded guilty to helping Tencha keep track of the monies she made, including investing it in properties she purchased in the Houston area.
Abel Medeles aka Chito, 67, Medeles-Arguello’s brother, operated the Las Palmas II parking lot.
It was part of his job to notify his co-conspirators inside the cantina of any law enforcement presence he observed in order for his co-conspirators to be able to conceal from law enforcement the illegal activities in the Las Palmas II.
Similarly, on at least one occasion, Odelia Hernandez, 47, Medeles-Arguello’s sister, told co-conspirators to lock the doors when she realized law enforcement was coming.
Medeles was sentenced to four years and seven months and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, while Hernandez received a sentence of six years and six months and must pay a $1500 fine.
Eduardo Guzman Gonzales aka Miguel Rojas or El Pantera, 33, and Alberto Mendez Flores aka Ardilla, 27, managed the cantina.
They paid Medeles-Arguello $20,000 each week out of the money received from the operation of the Las Palmas II and kept all the monies received in excess of that amount.
Both men received sentences of seven years and four months in federal prison.
Jose L. Uraga aka Wicho, 36, provided false/fraudulent identifications to employees, to include females working at Las Palmas II and was sentenced to 28 months.
Jorge Antonio Teloxa-Barbosa aka Eli, 31, testified at trial to his part in the conspiracy.
He also managed the cantina with Guzman and Mendez and paid Medeles-Arguello $20,000 each week out of the money received from the operation of Las Palmas II, keeping all the monies received in excess of that amount. He received a sentence of 37 months.
Graciela Medeles Ochoa, 37, Tencha’s daughter, assistedMedeles-Arguello in counting the proceeds obtained from Las Palmas II.
She also negotiated cashier’s checks for her mother and sister, Delia Diaz, 51. The money used to obtain the cashier’s checks came from the sex trafficking violations occurring at Las Palmas II.
Ochoa, who also testified about her mother’s unlawful conduct, was sentenced to 18 months. Diaz received 71 months for money laundering.
Another of Medeles-Arguello’s daughters, Diana Medeles Garcia aka Diana Garcia Marquez, 50, testified that her mother had been running brothels since she was 13 years old. She received a year and nine months for aiding and abetting to harbor illegal aliens.
Guadalupe Valdez Lugo aka Lupe, 58, worked as a manager at Las Palmas II, overseeing the female workers as well as the regular employees. She also testified at trial about Medeles-Arguello’s unlawful conduct and received a sentence of 25 months as well as a $5,000 fine.
Another of Medeles-Arguello’s sisters, Lilia Medeles Cerda aka Lilly, 66, received a sentence of for years and four months for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.
Talat Crippin aka Chacho, 27, who was married to one of Medeles-Arguello’s granddaughters plead guilty to being a lookout forMedeles-Arguello’s brothel and received three years and five months.
David Garcia, 46, Medeles-Arguello’s son, was convicted of aiding and abetting to harbor illegal aliens and will be sentenced next month.
Another defendant, Alfonso Diaz-Juarez aka Ponco or El Grenas, 45, and a Mexican national, is a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.