BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A woman from Mexico pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court Thursday to participating in a smuggling and labor trafficking scheme, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Maria Del Carmen Sanchez Potrero, 73, is a citizen from Mexico who last resided in Hartford. She pleaded guilty to charges related to smuggling Mexican nationals into the United States and harboring them in Hartford area residences.
Prosecutors say Potrero forced her victims to work and threatened to harm them in various ways if they didn’t pay expensive fees, interest, and other living expenses.
Court documents and statements made in court note that, beginning in September 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Hartford Police Department interviewed multiple Mexican nationals who said they were smuggled from Mexico into the US and taken to Hartford.
Investigators discovered that victims normally arranged with Potrero, her co-conspirators in Connecticut, and associates in Mexico to cross the border into the U.S. Each migrant would have to pay a fee between $15,000 and $20,000 once they arrived in the U.S.
According to prosecutors, in most cases, the victims were required to turn over a property deed as collateral before leaving Mexico. Then, they were smuggled across the border and taken to Hartford area residences, including Potrero’s home on Madison Street. The victims were often put at significant risk of bodily harm or death during the journey.
When victims arrived in Connecticut, they were ordered to pay $30,000 with interest. They also were forced to pay Potrero and her co-conspirators for rent, food, gas, and utilities. Prosecutors say Potrero and her co-conspirators created fake documents for the victims such as Permanent Residence Cards and Social Security cards.
The group also helped victims find employment in and around Hartford. Beyond their own employment, some victims were forced to perform housework and yardwork for free, without having their debt reduced.
Prosecutors said the victims were rarely provided with an accounting of their debt. If they failed to pay the amount that Potrero and her co-conspirators demanded, they were threatened and told that their family members in Mexico would be harmed. Victims were also threatened with having their properties in Mexico taken or having their immigration status revealed to US officials. Sometimes, their interest payments were raised as well.
As of Oct. 24, investigators have identified 18 victims of the scheme.
Potrero pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage and induce, bring in, transport, and harbor migrants, which could land her in prison for up to a decade. She will be sentenced on Jan. 16, 2025, and has agreed to a restitution order of $494,608.
Prosecutors say Potrero has been detained since being arrested on March 1, 2023.
The investigation is being led by the FBI, Hartford Police Department, US Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, US Customs and Border Protection, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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