Authorities have apprehended at least 10 illegal aliens across multiple states tied to a South American Theft Group that targeted West Michigan business owners in 2024.
The arrests stem in part from a Kent County Sheriff’s investigation into a December 2024 burglary at a home in Cascade Township while the owners were at work, a crime that investigators later tied to the multi-state burglary ring, the department said in a bulletin.
Those involved allegedly swiped about $266,369 in cash, jewelry and other valuables in Cascade Township, as well as about $50,000 to $60,000 in valuables from a residence in Flint Township months prior, according to court records cited by WWMT.
Evidence from the Michigan heists tied the group to at least 19 other confirmed burglaries nationwide, with total losses of at least $1.6 million.
Court documents allege the suspects researched business owners, many of them legal Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants, using internet searches, open-source databases and social media to “peer into the homes and lives of their targets looking for layout of the homes and for items of value,” WOOD reports.
“The victims had varying degrees of financial success,” according to federal court records. “Some kept cash in their home to facilitate operations for their business. For many, those financial achievements were expressed through purchases of gold, jewelry, and other valuables. And their success became the target of the defendants’ greed.”
Friday Night Review – This week's headlines.
Brief review of some headlines that caught my attention this week. The Tren de Aragua case from today will be at the bottom of this post.
SATG (South American Theft Group)
Wisconsin –
1. February 2nd, 2026. Men linked to South… pic.twitter.com/7R0hOjBhHD
— Tracker (Tren De Aragua Tracker) (@TDATracker247) February 7, 2026
Authorities allege the thieves monitored their victims’ daily movements, in some cases with GPS devices on their vehicles, while also studying police response times to avoid arrest.
“They were stalking them for weeks, anywhere from one week to three weeks, watching where they were going, what they were doing, and planning out how they were going to rob their home of all their valuables without getting caught,” Kent County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sott Dietrich told WOOD.
Undersheriff Bryan Muir said in a statement the investigation “demonstrates the growing sophistication of organized burglary groups operation across state lines and highlights the importance of coordinated law enforcement partnerships at the local, state, and federal levels.”
In total, 10 suspects have been arrested in Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey and California, including several nabbed at short-term rentals allegedly used to plan the heists.
Several involved have already pleaded guilty to federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen property, two were sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in December, while others remain in federal custody, WWMT reports.
Alleged thieves now in federal custody in Grand Rapids include Paul Jeferson Mendoza-Arevalo, 40; Wendey Vanessa Acosta-Arevalo, 28; William David Villarraga-Joya, 33; Ivan Chaparro-Perez, 32; Iesua German Ramirez-Perez, 26; and John Quinterro-Herrera, 29.
Others arrested in Wisconsin on state charges include Dilan Stiven Prieto-Rivera, 22; Cristian Sergery Guacaneme Garzon, 36; and Nino Gutierrez-Serrato, 38.
Court records identify the suspects as illegal immigrants, and note they will be deported after their cases are adjudicated and sentences completed, WOOD reported.
The arrests follow repeated reports of transnational theft rings targeting affluent Michiganders across many southern Michigan communities in recent years.
In May 2025, Chilean national Ignacio Antonio Ruiz-Saldias, 29, was convicted of operating a criminal enterprise and three counts of conspiracy to commit second degree home invasion for his role in a South American theft group that targeted eight homes in Oakland Township and Rochester Hills, as well as Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe and Ada Township near Grand Rapids, according to a statement from the Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
The conviction followed about eight months after Oakland County Circuit Judge Victoria Valentine ordered two Columbians, Michel Alba Rincon, 39, and Geovanny Castellanos-Forero, 27, to spend nine months to 15 years in prison for their roles in an international theft group targeting high end home in Oakland County.
Other examples include an illegal immigrant from Chile, Vania Herrera Valdes, 21, who was busted during an alleged home invasion in Oakland County in December 2024.
Valdes’ arrest came about a year after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against three Chilian nationals for breaking into high end homes in Oakland, Wayne, and Kent counties.
