MS-13 gang member, Jilmer Hernandez-Alvarado, a/k/a “Toro”, age 27, most recently of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to extort business owners.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.
La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 gang (“MS-13”), is an international criminal enterprise that is active throughout the United States, including in Maryland. MS-13 in Maryland is organized into “cliques,” smaller groups operating in a specific area. Hernandez-Alvarado was a member of the Fulton clique of MS-13.
According to Hernandez-Alvarado’s guilty plea, MS-13 generated income from various sources, including extorting money from businesses, such as unlicensed businesses which operated in the territory of MS-13. From at least February 2018 to December 2020, Hernandez-Alvarado and other MS-13 members conspired to extort money or “rent” payments from Langley Park, Maryland business owners through the threat of violence. Each week, Hernandez-Alvarado and his co-conspirators demanded rent payments from business owners for operating in territory controlled by MS-13 and threatened to harm business owners if the rent was not paid.
Hernandez-Alvarado faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and in prison for the extortion conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for December 5, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Montgomery County Police Department, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica C. Collins and Chris M. Sarma, who are prosecuting the case.
