A federal investigation into the trafficking and exploitation of migrant children has led to charges against three Guatemalan nationals of running a “sweeping conspiracy” to bring children into the country using fraudulent sponsorship applications.The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced indictments on Thursday, alleging that three defendants used false identification and forged documents to gain custody of unaccompanied migrant children entering the US.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch said the group “participated in a broader conspiracy” that included submitting fraudulent sponsor applications and exploiting vulnerabilities in the migrant child sponsorship system.According to prosecutors, siblings Maritza Azucena Cahuac Coque, 38, and Carlos Agustin Cahuac Coque, 33, recruited a third defendant, Gladys Marina Calle Chen, 20, into the operation after she herself was smuggled into the U.S. and fraudulently sponsored.Federal authorities allege that between December 2020 and October 2023, Maritza and Carlos Cahuac Coque repeatedly defrauded the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement by applying to sponsor unaccompanied migrant children.Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said investigators found evidence that Maritza Kock used false birth certificates, Guatemalan consular identification cards and photographs of relatives’ identification documents to mislead officials reviewing applications.“It was a business,” Duva said.When federal agents executed a search warrant at Maritza Kok’s home in Cleveland, Ohio, last month, they found Chen living there with several adults and at least four children. Pay checks issued to other individuals, including at least one child, sponsored by Maritza Kock were deposited into bank accounts controlled by her and an alleged co-conspirator.Maritza Koch has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, harboring aliens, aggravated identity theft and other crimes. If found guilty, he could face up to 17 years in prison.Carlos Coque has been charged with conspiracy to bring aliens into the country illegally for financial gain and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years. Chen is accused of making false statements to federal officials during the sponsorship process and faces up to five years in prison.Blanch said investigators have identified more than 15,500 similar “super-sponsor” cases across the country. He also cited a separate case involving a Guatemalan man who was sentenced after repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl before falsely claiming to sponsor her.“Too often, children were abused, assaulted and certainly exploited,” said Blanch. “In some cases, individuals sponsor multiple children, causing them to lie to government personnel and on government forms and claim they are close relatives when in fact they were not.”“They will use fake or stolen identities and make other false claims during the application process to gain custody of children,” she said.“These two cases – while only two – help explain why what was going on was truly a nightmare,” said Blanch.