By Steve Neavling
A former Border Patrol agent accused of helping a migrant stay in the U.S. in exchange for a $5,000 bribe has been indicted on three charges.
Fernando Castillo, who recently worked as a Border Patrol agent in El Paso, was arrested in June and left the agency on July 13.
A grand jury indicted Castillo on three counts of wire fraud, bribery by a public official and migrant smuggling last week.
Castillo was working at a migrant processing center in El Paso when he approached an unidentified migrant who was supposed to be returned to Mexico. While transporting the migrant in a van, Castillo offered to erase the migrant’s files from the system.
The migrant said Castillo stole $500 from his bag and reported the theft to border authorities, who contacted the FBI and other investigators.
In the meantime, Castillo allegedly produced fraudulent documentation to help the migrant stay in the U.S.
