SAN ANTONIO HUMAN SMUGGLER PLEADS GUILTY TO PERJURY AFTER USING ANOTHER PERSON’S IDENTITY DURING FEDERAL PROSECUTION

LAREDO, Texas — A San Antonio man has pleaded guilty to perjury after admitting that he repeatedly used another person’s identity while being investigated and prosecuted in a federal human-smuggling case.

Jose Alfredo Zapata, 44, admitted that he lied to law enforcement officers and federal judges by falsely identifying himself as another person during proceedings connected to his earlier prosecution for transporting 19 illegal aliens through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo.

According to federal prosecutors, Zapata arrived at the checkpoint on September 3, 2022, driving a blue Ford Expedition that was towing a trailer. He identified himself as “E.S.” and claimed to be a U.S. citizen traveling home to San Antonio.

A Border Patrol K-9 alerted authorities to the trailer, prompting a search.

Agents discovered 19 illegal aliens concealed inside a compartment near the top of the trailer.

Zapata later admitted that he was transporting the group and expected to receive $2,000 for delivering the trailer to San Antonio. Two of the individuals found inside the trailer told authorities they had paid a human-smuggling organization to transport them into the United States.

The prosecution did not end with the smuggling conduct.

Federal authorities said that from September 6, 2022, through January 18, 2023, Zapata continued representing himself as E.S. during the investigation and court proceedings. He supplied identifying information belonging to that individual, including the victim’s date of birth, residential address, driver’s license number and Social Security number.

By continuing to use the false identity before law enforcement and federal judges, Zapata committed the conduct underlying the separate perjury charge.

In Zapata’s case, prosecutors established that the deception continued for more than four months and extended across multiple stages of the federal process.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga accepted Zapata’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for December 29, 2026.

At sentencing, Zapata faces a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000.

He remains in custody pending sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by FBI Laredo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Franklyn is prosecuting the case for the Southern District of Texas.

The case was brought as part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative focused on immigration enforcement, cartel and transnational criminal organization activity, human smuggling and violent crime.

Zapata has pleaded guilty to the perjury charge, removing the presumption of innocence as to that offense. His sentence will be determined by the court in December based on federal law, the advisory sentencing guidelines and the circumstances presented at the sentencing hearing.

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