Worcester Man Sentenced For Large-scale Human Smuggling Operation

WORCESTER, MA — A Brazilian national living in Worcester was sentenced for his involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle people into the U.S., money laundering conspiracy and illegal reentry.

Flavio Alexandre Alves, also known as “Ronaldo,” was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The 42-year-old is also subject to deportation upon completion of the sentence.

Last October, Alves pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring and transport people within the U.S., one count of conspiracy to launder money, and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported person, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.

He was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint with human smuggling in March 2025 and remains in federal custody, the USAO said.

Alves had already been convicted of human smuggling offenses in 2004 and deported to Brazil in 2005. Sometime after that, he illegally re-entered the U.S. and has been residing in the U.S. without immigration status, the USAO said.

According to the charging documents, an investigation began into a human smuggling organization operating in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico that smuggles Brazilian nationals through Mexico, and crosses the border into the U.S. for financial gain and laundering the proceeds.

Alves was identified as a domestic-based smuggler working for the organization who joined in 2021. He coordinated with co-conspirators to facilitate the transportation of people from Brazil into the U.S., launder funds to Mexico, and collect smuggling fees, the USAO said.

He was specifically responsible for purchasing airline tickets for people to various places within the U.S., according to charging documents. Between May 2021 and August 2022, he purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix.

Alves sent money to people located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the U.S. He sent hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to bank and financial records. He also collected payments from people coming into the U.S. for being smuggled into the country.

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