Renoj-Matul was sentenced to nearly 22 years, and Mejia-Chaj to two years and nine months, in a Guatemala smuggling case that used a Phoenix stash house.

A federal sentence after a guilty plea is the judgment on the counts that were admitted. It is not a new accusation. Renoj-Matul's March plea to conspiracy to bring, transport, and harbor aliens for private financial gain, and to hostage taking, was the conviction on those counts. Mejia-Chaj's plea to that same conspiracy charge was his conviction. Judge Valenzuela's nearly 22-year term, and the two-year, nine-month term, are the sentences. Helmer Obispo-Hernández, described as an alleged lieutenant, remains a fugitive. The charges against him are accusations.

Patch and MyNewsLA reported Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, that U.S. District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela sentenced two Westlake men in downtown Los Angeles. Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 53, also known as Turko, received nearly 22 years in federal prison. Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, 51, received two years and nine months. Both outlets cited the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California and described the case as a smuggling organization that moved undocumented immigrants from Guatemala into the United States for profit. Renoj-Matul pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to bring, transport, and harbor aliens for private financial gain and to hostage taking. Mejia-Chaj pleaded guilty to that same conspiracy charge. The March pleas were the convictions on the admitted counts. Friday's terms are the judgment.

Renoj-Matul admitted in his plea agreement that the organization moved nearly 20,000 undocumented immigrants from Guatemala into the United States from 2019 through July 2024, Patch and MyNewsLA reported. The U.S. Attorney's Office said accomplices in Guatemala solicited people to come, accepted $15,000 to $18,000 per person, and coordinated travel through Mexico. Once in the United States, some people were held in a stash house on James M. Wood Boulevard in Westlake or in Phoenix, Arizona, until those fees were paid. That Phoenix stash house is the Southwest piece of the same operation. Prosecutors said that in 2024 Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj held two Guatemalan nationals over unpaid fees and threatened to kill them unless third parties paid. That hostage account is what prosecutors said. Renoj-Matul's admitted hostage-taking count is part of his March conviction. Mejia-Chaj's admitted count is the conspiracy.

The same reporting said co-defendant José Paxtor-Oxlaj, 46, a driver for the organization, was sentenced by Judge Valenzuela in July to six and a half years and about $65,000 in restitution in connection with a November 2023 crash in Elk City, Oklahoma, that killed seven passengers. Court papers said three of those passengers were minors, including a 4-year-old. That July sentence is background on the ring. It is not Friday's judgment. Helmer Obispo-Hernández, 42, described by officials as an alleged lieutenant, faces charges and remains a fugitive. Those charges are accusations. He is presumed innocent.