Crime & Safety
Shrewsbury Man Pleads Guilty in Illegal Alien Case
The Brazilian citizen is accused of helping numerous Brazilian immigrants to enter the country illegally.

Information courtesy of the US Department of Justice.
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Marcio Freitas, 44, of 90 Edgewood Rd., Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Dennis F. Saylor to two counts of encouraging an illegal alien to come to or remain in the United States when such entry or residence will be illegal.
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According to a statement by the US Department of Justice, had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that Freitas, a Brazilian citizen who was employed by Hester Landscape, persuaded his employer to sponsor Brazilian nationals to receive temporary work visas to allow them to enter and remain in the US for approximately ten months. Freitas charged each Brazilian thousands of dollars for the visas, but had no intention of placing them in jobs. Freitas illegally assisted numerous Brazilians, the majority of whom did not return to Brazil at the end of the ten month visa period.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 2. Freitas faces twelve months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
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