$540,000 seized from city motel owners

BROWNSVILLE — Federal officials seized $540,000 from four Harlingen motel owners after they were sentenced to probation for conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants, an official said Friday.

Rakeshkumar Bhakta, 40, and wife Alka Bhakta, 35, owners of the Hudson House motel, and Kamleshkumar Bhakta, 32, and wife Falguniben Bhakta, 30, owners of the Country Side Inn motel, forfeited a total of $540,000 in equity from their businesses, said Nina Pruneda, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Antonio.

U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle ordered the owners of the Hudson House and Country Side Inn each to pay $270,000 of the total, a press release said.

Tagle ordered Rakeshkumar Bhakta and Kamleshkumar Bhakta to serve five years probation as part of an agreement in which they would serve 30 days in jail and pay $5,000 fines, the press release said.

Alka Bhakta and Falguniben Bhakta were also sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $2,000 fines, the press release said.

The four motel owners pleaded guilty Aug. 10 in U.S. District Court to charges that stemmed from undercover sting operations, authorities said.

In court, Tagle said an undercover operation made up of 27 ICE agents and five illegal immigrants led to the charges against the motel owners from India.

At the motels Friday, desk clerks declined comment, referring questions to Weslaco attorney Jesse Contreras. When reached by phone, Contreras said only, “You have a nice day,” before hanging up.

The motel owners’ convictions stemmed from room rentals to human smugglers, the press release said.

At the Hudson House, a 36-room motel at 500 Ed Carey Drive, Rakeshkumar and Alka Bhakta rented rooms at inflated rates to human smugglers, the press release said. The couple falsified information on registration cards, offering smugglers rooms at the motel’s rear to help shield smuggling, the press release said.

The couple also bought and delivered food to help smugglers shield themselves from law enforcement, the press release said.

At the Country Side Inn, a 35-room motel at 1669 N. 77 Sunshine Strip, Kamleshkumar and Falguniben Bhakta were convicted of renting rooms at inflated rates to house illegal immigrants while falsifying information on registration cards to shield smuggling from law enforcement, the press release said.

At the motel, rates jumped from $40 to $400 as part of a scheme to harbor illegal immigrants, according the indictment used to convict the motel’s owners.