Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle Recognizes National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

New Orleans - Today the Eastern District of Louisiana (EDLA) observes National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and joins the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) in reaffirming the administration's commitment to combating all forms of human trafficking and protecting victims and survivors. Human Trafficking Prevention Month presents an opportunity for DHS and DOJ, through Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTF), to intensify operational efforts, raise public awareness, and strengthen partnerships across federal, state, and local agencies to disrupt trafficking networks, protect vulnerable individuals, and ensure traffickers are brought to justice.

"This Department of Justice is working tirelessly alongside our partners to dismantle human trafficking networks, help survivors, and protect vulnerable populations from being exploited," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "Under this administration we have seen an increase in human trafficking prosecutions, and during Human Trafficking Prevention Month we reaffirm our commitment to prosecuting traffickers and encourage Americans to report instances of human trafficking in their communities."

"Through the Homeland Security Task Force, President Trump is taking the fight directly to human trafficking networks and disrupting their modern-day slave trade while seizing their assets and arresting their kingpins and foot soldiers. The American people should not have to live in fear of cartels, gang bangers, and foreign terrorists preying upon the most vulnerable among us," the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement. "The Homeland Security Task Force is the largest coordinated campaign against transnational criminal organizations in U.S. history, and I'm proud to co-lead it with Attorney General Bondi."

"During Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the FBI reiterates our work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and national victim-based advocacy groups in joint task forces to protect our communities across the country," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "The horrifying reach of human trafficking spreads far and wide. Homeland Security Task Forces are fighting back to disrupt these perilous networks and put a stop to that reach. The FBI will continue our investigations and bring justice to those exploited by human traffickers.

"Human trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on society's most vulnerable members," said U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. "Although these crimes typically operate in the shadows, human trafficking can also occur in plain sight. Sadly, it often goes undetected and unreported because victims live in fear of physical abuse, threats, extortion, and other forms of intimidation. Our office, along with a committed team of federal, state, and local law enforcement, supported by engaged community partners, will continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute perpetrators of this insidious crime, and hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

In January 2025, "Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Section 6 of this order directed the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly establish HSTFs in every state nationwide. The HSTF objective is to end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) throughout the United States; dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks; end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking, with a particular focus on such offenses involving children; and ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.

Since January 20, 2025, the Eastern District of Louisiana has had the following achievements:

• On December 10, 2025, following a three-day trial led by Human Trafficking Coordinator Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni, a federal jury convicted a 37-year-old New Orleans schoolteacher of Sex Trafficking a sixteen-year-old girl, and of Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Prostitution.
• On August 13, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted two adult males with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a fifteen-year-old girl, interstate transportation of a minor for unlawful sexual activity, and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises.
• On May 15, 2025, Human Trafficking Coordinator Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni charged two women in a Bill of Information for their roles in trafficking a fifteen-year-old girl from Texas to Kenner, Louisiana for commercial sex. AUSA Carboni secured guilty pleas from both defendants.
• On February 11, 2025, a federal judge sentenced a 25-year-old man to 22.5 years in prison for his role in sex trafficking three minors and two adults through violent beatings and death threats.
• On May 28, 2025, a federal judge sentenced a 28-year-old man to seventeen years in prison, for sex trafficking a seventeen-year-old victim to New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Houston, Texas, and then boasting about it on social media.
• On March 12, 2025, a federal judge sentenced a 29-year-old man to eighteen years in prison for sex trafficking a fourteen-year-old girl from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana, advertising online her availability for sex, and lying to the victim's mother about the girl's whereabouts.

In January 2026, DHS and DOJ are surging resources to fight and raise awareness about human trafficking, including:

• Identifying ongoing investigations and prioritizing featured operations across 45 federal locations and 10 state locations with an emphasis on border states.
• Coordinating with FBI Human Trafficking Squads and multi-agency Human Trafficking Task Forces to conduct victim recovery.
• Partnering with AMTRAK and FAMS to increase law enforcement resources and distribute posters with QR codes for reporting human trafficking in all station bathrooms and trains.
• Running advertisements related to $250 million recovery from Backpage to distribute to victims and additional victim restitution efforts by DOL-OIG.
• Organizing Human Trafficking seminars and outreach events with DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking at high schools and colleges to highlight the role of HSTFs in addressing human trafficking.

On August 25, 2025, HSTF officially launched its effort to protect the Homeland with a September Surge encompassing 400 operations nationwide. In just 43 days, HSTF nationwide operations resulted in 3,266 arrests and seizures including:

• 1,041 Sinaloa members,
• 856 Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación ("CJNG") members,
• 641 MS-13 members,
• 456 Tren de Aragua members,
• 1,067 weapons
• More than $3,250,000 in currency
• Approximately 91 metric tons of narcotics