New Jersey Man Flew Home After a Failed Smuggling Attempt in Texas, Now Spending Over 10 Years in Federal Prison

DEL RIO, Texas - A New Jersey man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 120 months in prison for his role in a failed human smuggling event, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

On April 6, 2023, Texas Department of Public Safety agents working in La Pryor pulled over a vehicle and detained one of several fleeing backseat occupants before the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed. The detained individual was determined to be a Mexican national who had no lawful status in the U.S. According to court documents, Cameron Alexander Ford, 23, of Camden, New Jersey, was determined to be the owner of an abandoned cell phone found by the troopers in the same area.

An investigation revealed that the vehicle was a rental from the Philadelphia International Airport, reported stolen two days after the smuggling event, on April 8. The abandoned cell phone contained photos leading to Ford, whose name yielded a warrant for robbery from the Philadelphia Police Department. Ford's phone also contained location information showing he stayed at a hotel in Eagle Pass on April 5 and 6. Text conversations and other evidence found on the phone revealed a smuggling conspiracy between Ford and co-defendant John Klotz aka "Remy," who was determined to be the son of the woman that reported the stolen rental vehicle.

The investigation revealed that Ford and Klotz drove the rental vehicle from New Jersey to Eagle Pass in the days preceding the smuggling attempt. After the two conspirators fled from DPS on April 6, they managed to fly from San Antonio to Philadelphia.

Further search warrants identified a third conspirator, Van Donovan Brown aka "Sledge," as the individual that facilitated the smuggling attempt through a WhatsApp group chat. Records also indicated that Brown paid Klotz through CashApp.

Ford was indicted along with Klotz and Brown on Oct. 2, 2024. He was arrested on April 1, 2025. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 29, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and placing lives in jeopardy. Ford's 10-year sentence will run consecutive to a 47-month sentence he received from the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia for carjacking and aiding and abetting.

Klotz and Brown have also pleaded guilty and are both scheduled to be sentenced on April 23. A fourth defendant, Jeffrey Ray Jilpas was named in a superseding indictment on Feb. 11 and arrested on Feb. 20. U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez presides over the case.

"This smuggler thought that he could come to Texas, break the law, flee from law enforcement, and then resume his life back home as if nothing happened," said U.S. Attorney Simmons. "Thanks to a lengthy and thorough investigation by our law enforcement partners and federal prosecutors' dogged commitment to justice, his home for the foreseeable future will be a prison cell."

"This 10-year prison sentence is a testament to the resolve and expertise of Homeland Security Investigations in confronting the threat posed by human smuggling," said acting Special Agent in Charge, John A. Pasciucco, HSI San Antonio. "HSI's special agents worked relentlessly to dismantle a criminal network that showed blatant disregard for human life and the rule of law. We will not tolerate those who exploit vulnerable individuals and undermine our nation's security. HSI remains committed to pursuing justice and protecting our communities from these dangerous operations."

Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Zavala County Sheriff's Offices, and the Frio County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Ellis-Dotson prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

###