I.C.E. News Release
March 2, 2012
Richmond, VA
RICHMOND, Va. – Edy Oliverez-Jiminez, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced Friday to two consecutive life terms in prison, after having been convicted by a jury for racketeering, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to produce and transfer false identification documents.
The investigation was conducted by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office in Norfolk, Va.
The sentence handed down today ensures that a murderer like Edy Oliverez-Jiminez will be locked up for the rest of his life," said John P. Torres, special agent in charge of HSI Washington, D.C. "This case has demonstrated that fraudulent document vending organizations can be not only complex and highly organized, but also ruthless in the pursuit of profit. HSI will continue its work with law enforcement partners at all levels to disrupt this type of criminal activity and prosecute the individuals responsible."
The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, who explained from the bench that he imposed the life sentences to send a message of deterrence for Oliverez-Jiminez's involvement with a violent racketeering organization based out of Mexico. He further stated that the sentences were just in light of the defendant's involvement in one of the most violent murders that he has observed in his career. He described the murder as "pure unadulterated torture."
"Edy Oliverez-Jiminez is a calculating murderer who savagely attacked rival vendors to corner the fake document market," said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride. "His Mexican-based cartel exported crime, pain and terror into the United States, and today's sentence appropriately ensures that he will never rejoin society on either side of the border."
"Edy Oliverez-Jiminez, like his co-conspirators, committed horrific acts of violence to protect the turf of his fraudulent document ring," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. "Because of his crimes, he will now spend the rest of his life in prison."
Oliverez-Jimenez was a long-term supervisor for a highly sophisticated and violent fraudulent document trafficking organization based in Mexico, with cells in 19 cities in 11 states, including three cells in Virginia. Prior to his arrest, he had served as the cell manager for the Virginia Beach and Little Rock, Ark., cells.
On Nov. 29, 2011, a federal jury convicted Oliverez-Jimenez of kidnapping and murdering a rival in Little Rock in July 2010. Posing as a potential client, a conspirator placed a call to the rival and arranged to meet him and an associate at an abandoned trailer house. When the rival entered the home, Oliverez-Jiminez and others attacked him, binding his feet, mouth and eyes with duct tape. The rival's associate was also brought inside, bound with duct tape, and beaten by the attackers. Both men were left bound on the floor, and the rival was later pronounced dead at the scene of the attack. According to the Arkansas deputy chief medical examiner, he died of asphysixia, blunt-enforced trauma and blood loss.
The jury also convicted Oliverez-Jiminez for his role in managing cells in Little Rock and Virginia Beach that produced high-quality false identification cards for illegal aliens. He supervised a number of "runners" who distributed business cards advertising the organization's services and helped facilitate transactions with customers. The cost of fraudulent documents varied depending on the location, with counterfeit resident alien and Social Security cards typically selling from $150 to $200. Each cell maintained detailed sales records and divided the proceeds between the runner, the cell manager and the upper level managers in Mexico. From January 2008 through November 2010, members of the organization wired more than $1 million to Mexico.
By August 2010, Oliverez-Jiminez had relocated to Virginia Beach, where he set up another cell for the organization, which operated until his arrest in November 2010. According to wire intercepts admitted as evidence at trial, he planned another violent attack of a competitor for Sept. 18, 2010.
Read more on the ICE web page
Source: www.ice.gov
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