Couple accused in immigration hustle denied bail

Marleny Elizabeth Castellanos and Alfredo Orlando Gonzalez, the alleged masterminds behind an illegal immigration hustle, were denied bail in the Supreme Court this morning. They were charged on May thirteenth, 2014 with multiple immigration offences. It is alleged that they charged immigrants fifteen hundred dollars each to secure nationality for them. Six charges were initially read to Gonzalez, while eighteen were read to Castellanos, and more are pending. Today, the prosecution objected to bail, claiming that they are flight risks, and since the investigation is ongoing there are likely to be more charges brought. Attorney for the couple Kevin Arthurs argued for bail, submitting that his clients are Belizean and that Gonzalez has held a steady job for many years. Justice Troadio Gonzalez decided to use his discretion to deny bail at this time, but gave the prosecution until June twentieth to come up with stronger evidence to support withholding bail. Castellanos and Gonzalez had previously pleaded guilty to the first set of charges, but while on remand pending sentencing they changed that plea to not guilty.