Furniture Flipper Sentenced for Smuggling 36 Migrants in Box Truck

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — A Houston man has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for illegally transporting 36 undocumented migrants in a sealed compartment in a box truck.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Louis Dante Anthony, 29, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Morales. The judge also ordered three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Court documents state Anthony attempted to pass through the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint on December 8, 2024. He claimed he was transporting furniture from Edington to Victoria, told authorities he worked as a furniture flipper, and denied carrying any passengers.

However, an X-ray scan of the box truck revealed 36 migrants trapped in an 8 by 4.25 feet false compartment at the front of the vehicle, who had no access to air, could not be heard from the outside, and were unable to get themselves out.

These migrants were from Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, authorities say.

Louis Dante Anthony will remain in custody pending transfer to a facility designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.