HOUSTON – FBI Houston and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has announced four people, including a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officer, have been taken into custody on allegations they exchanged money to lift immigration detainers on individuals held in custody at the Harris County Jail.
Houston residents Leopoldo Perrault Benitez, 53, Anthony Benitez, 32, Isaac Sierra, 51, and La Porte resident Jose Angel Muniz, 51, made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray, at which time the indictment was unsealed. They were ordered into custody pending further criminal proceedings.
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A federal grand jury returned the indictment June 24. It alleges Leopoldo Benitez was the owner of A Way Out Bail Bonds in Houston. His son - Anthony Benitez - was an employee, while Sierra worked at International Bonding Company, according to the charges. Muniz was allegedly a deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO).
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the charges allege the three bail bondsmen paid Muniz to lift immigration detainers on illegal aliens in ICE custody awaiting removal.
If convicted, all four face up to 15 years in prison and a fine equal to the equivalent value of the bribes offered and received or $250,000, whichever is greater.
“The Southern District of Texas takes allegations of corruption by federal officers extremely seriously, particularly those entrusted with keeping our border secure and nation safe,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “There is no room whatsoever for bribery or side deals when it comes to immigration enforcement.”