Man pleads guilty to smuggling in connection with deaths of migrants in Akwesasne

MONTREAL — A dual American-Canadian citizen has pleaded guilty for his role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of eight migrants in the St. Lawrence River in 2023.

The U.S. Department of Justice said 35-year-old Timothy Oakes pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, to four counts of alien smuggling for financial gain, and to four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death.

The department said Oakes, who is from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory straddling the Canada-U.S. border, was a “key facilitator” in the smuggling operation that left a Romanian family of four dead while trying to cross the river to the United States.

“The defendant’s role in the organization was to stage aliens at his home and, at times, transport the aliens by boat across the river,” said a news release, which specified that Oakes was paid about $1,000 per migrant.

The Justice Department said Oakes brought the Romanian family to the launch on the night of March 29, 2023. He then left them there with his boat for his brother to pick up and drive them across the river to the United States.

A total of nine people drowned after their boat capsized during the trip, including the Romanian couple and their two young children, a family of four from India and Oakes’s brother, Casey Oakes. The U.S. charges against Oakes do not include the Indian family’s deaths.

“While in transit, and shortly thereafter, the boat capsized due to severe weather. As a result, the Romanian family and Casey Oakes died,” the release read. “The defendant proceeded with the transport despite members of the alien smuggling organization being aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the St. Lawrence River, specifically high winds, freezing temperatures and limited visibility.”

The bodies of the migrants were pulled from the river in Akwesasne, about 130 kilometres southwest of Montreal, on March 30 and 31, 2023. The body of Casey Oakes, 30, was found in July 2023.

The Romanian family was made up of Florin Iordache, 28; his wife, Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, 28; their two-year-old daughter, Evelin; and one-year-old son, Elyen. Both children were Canadian citizens and the family had been living in the Toronto area.

The four other people who died were members of the Chaudhari family from the western Indian state of Gujarat. They included the father, Praveenbhai Chaudhari, 50; mother, Dakshaben, 45; son, Meet, 20; and daughter, Vidhi, 23.

Law enforcement have said Akwesasne’s geography across the international border makes it a popular spot for smugglers of both humans and contraband.

United States-based Dakota Montour, 31; Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 43; and Janet Terrance, 45, previously entered guilty pleas in relation to the tragedy.

Stephanie Square, 53, and Rahsontanohstha Delormier, 31, who are from the Canadian side of Akwesasne, were extradited to the United States and are awaiting trial.

The Justice Department said Timothy Oakes will be sentenced on Sept. 11 and faces between five years and life in prison.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press