A Woburn father and son who own two local restaurants were sentenced to prison on Friday for conspiring to smuggle Brazilian migrants into the country, United States Attorney Leah Foley’s office said.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs sentenced Jesse James Moraes, 67, and Hugo Giovanni Moraes, 45, owners of Tudo Na Brasa/Taste of Brazil and The Dog House Bar and Grill, Foley’s office said in a statement.
Jesse Moraes was sentenced to eight months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, Foley’s office said. Hugo Moraes was sentenced to five months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and then five months in home confinement. Hugo Moraes was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.
Both men pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the statement read. Jesse Moreas also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of the conspiracy.
The father and son’s conspiracy involved recruiting undocumented immigrants to enter the United States through Mexico in exchange for fees between $12,000 and $22,000 per person, the statement read. Immigrants were encouraged to make fake claims of aslyum and familial relationships in the United States and were given fake information about points of contact in the country in case immigration authorities caught them.
The Moraeses then helped migrants get long-term housing, including apartments owned by relatives of Hugo Moraes, Foley’s office said.
Both men arranged for some migrants to work at their restaurants and paid them in cash until they obtained identification documents, at which point they would be paid at least partly by check, the statement read. They also encouraged the migrants to obtain fake identification documents and referred them to another man, Marcos Chacon Gil, to receive these documents.
Some of the migrants were able to pay the smuggling fee by direct payments, having their wages withheld, or by collection within and outside the United States, the statement read.
For the money laundering conspiracy that Jesse Moreas was sentenced for involved transferring funds into and out of the United States, Foley’s office said.
