On January 24, Martinez Builders Supply, operating as East Coast Trust (ECT), and Kelly Yanira Del Valle of Fort Pierce, Florida, received sentences after pleading guilty to charges related to harboring undocumented migrants through employment. The pleas were entered in August and October 2024. Del Valle also admitted guilt for filing false tax returns and aiding others in doing so.
ECT was sentenced to two years of probation with the requirement to implement a corporate compliance program. Additionally, the company must forfeit $450,000 to the United States and pay a $100,000 fine. Del Valle received a 13-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to forfeit $100,000 and pay $100,146 in restitution to the IRS.
The case stems from activities between June 2018 and August 2021 when Del Valle and several ECT officers conspired to employ unauthorized migrants. An audit by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed that many ECT employees were not authorized to work in the U.S. To hide this fact, Del Valle and others moved these workers from ECT's payroll to that of two shell companies while they continued working at ECT.
Between June 2018 and July 2021, funds were transferred from ECT accounts managed by Del Valle under the shell companies' names specifically for paying these undocumented workers. On August 6, 2021, HSI agents found 28 undocumented migrants working at ECT's headquarters in St. Lucie County.
The announcement came from Acting U.S. Attorney Michael S. Davis for the Southern District of Florida along with Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of HSI Miami and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including HSI Fort Pierce Field Office, IRS CI Miami Field Office, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector, U.S. Secret Service Miami Field Office, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, and Fort Pierce Police Department (FPPD). Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted the case.
Further court documents can be accessed on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or through PACER under case numbers 24-cr-14019 and 24-cr-14035.