An illegal alien who murdered a whistleblower for exposing an unlawful hiring scheme in Georgia has been sentenced to life in federal prison without parole.
An April 10 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced the life sentence on 46-year-old Juan Rangel-Rubio. The illegal alien shot legal immigrant Eliud Montoya in 2017 for exposing a $3.5 million illegal hiring scheme operated by individuals from Mexico.
“Montoya was murdered for doing the right thing and revealing Rangel-Rubio’s scheme to profit off his use of undocumented workers,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg. “As a result of the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners, Rangel-Rubio will be held accountable for his despicable crimes.”
Prior to his murder, Montoya worked at Wolf Tree Service – where Juan’s brother Pablo, 53, also worked as a manager. Juan, Pablo and Higinio Perez-Bravo, 52, had been involved in a scheme to hire at least 100 other illegals to work for the company.
The three conspirators reportedly routed the workers’ paychecks to their own bank accounts, skimming a portion of the workers’ salaries to themselves. They also created fake employee accounts and directed those funds to their own personal accounts. The three netted more than $3.5 million under this fraudulent scheme.
Upon seeing his colleagues being mistreated, Montoya complained to both Wolf Tree management and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A copy of Montoya’s complaint was also forwarded to Pablo. Upon learning of the federal report, the manager and his two co-conspirators arranged for the whistleblower’s killing.
Perez-Bravo was paid for the use of his vehicles and his role as a getaway driver. Juan then volunteered to be the triggerman, shooting Montoya to death outside his home. Montoya was found dead in August 2017.
Co-conspirators also serving prison terms
Back in 2018, U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine said in a statement: “Montoya was a naturalized citizen of the U.S. who worked hard and raised a family. He went to the proper authorities to report a federal crime and for that, he was murdered.”
Christine emphasized that his office “is committed to ensuring justice for Montoya, a man killed for doing the right thing by those intent on protecting their illegal profits.” Justice was indeed achieved as the three illegal aliens responsible for Montoya’s murder were put behind bars.
Pablo and Perez-Bravo pleaded guilty in April 2022 for their roles in both Montoya’s murder and the illegal hiring scheme. Pablo is serving a prison sentence of nearly 50 years, while Perez-Bravo is serving 20 years behind bars.
“Both men are citizens of Mexico illegally present in the U.S. and will be subject to deportation after completing their prison terms. There is no parole in the federal [prison] system,” said the statement.
The press release noted that aside from the life sentence, U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Juan to pay almost $1.4 million in restitution. It continued: “Four other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 24 months for charges related to the investigation, including conspiracy and illegal firearms possession.”
“This sentence means that the consequences of [Juan’s] actions have caught up with him, and he will no longer be able to hurt anyone,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Katrina Berger. “I am proud of the work that our great law enforcement partners did to successfully close this case and the great work that they do to protect our communities.”
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