MOAB — A judge has sentenced a man to prison for illegally smuggling three minors into the country. They were found in his car during a traffic stop in Grand County.
Miguel Angel Chay-Tiguila, 32, was sentenced to three terms of five years to life in prison for aggravated human smuggling, a first-degree felony, on Tuesday. Seventh District Judge Don Torgerson ordered the sentences to run concurrent.
The judge also issued a protective order restricting any contact with the three victims and ordered him to forfeit the $1,256 that was in his possession at the time he was arrested.
Chay-Tiguila was found guilty of the charges during a trial on Feb. 12.
He was pulled over for a large crack in his windshield on June 11, 2025, and officers found seven passengers who were not in the U.S. legally, four adults and three minors who were 15 or 16, according to the Utah Attorney General's Office.
Investigators confirmed the individuals were being transported "for a commercial purpose," and the teens did not have an adult family member with them.
"The passengers all indicated that they would be working at their destination, but were told they would learn the type of work when they arrived. The majority of passengers stated that they believed Miguel would be paid by someone at their destination for transporting them," according to charging documents.
Chay-Tiguila reported only six passengers in the vehicle and claimed he did not know their names. He also admitted he was in the U.S. illegally.
Four charges for human smuggling, a second-degree felony, against Chay-Tiguila were dismissed by prosecutors on Feb. 9, the day before the trial began.
