Smuggler pleads guilty in deadly migrant smuggling plot on St. Lawrence River

Three years after eight migrants drowned trying to cross the St. Lawrence River near the Quebec-U.S. border, a man accused of helping run the smuggling route has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court.

Timothy Oakes, a 35-year-old dual Canadian-American citizen from Akwesasne, which straddles the Quebec-Ontario-New York border, admitted to his role in a human smuggling conspiracy that prosecutors say routinely moved migrants from Cornwall, Ont., into northern New York by boat.

He’s the fourth person to plead guilty in the case. Two others are awaiting trial after being extradited from Canada in 2025.

Oakes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, four counts of smuggling for financial gain and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death, according to the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday.

The death-related charges pertain to a Romanian family of four. The deaths of a family from India who also drowned were not included in the indictment.

Now he faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 11.

It unfolded in March 2023, when the bodies of two families — one from Romania, one India — were recovered from waters near the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. Among the dead were two Romanian toddlers: two-year-old Evelin Iordache and one-year-old Elyen Iordache.

Florin and Cristina Iordache with their two young children, born in Canada, Evelin (C), 3, and one-year-old Elyen. Courtesy Iordache family

Oakes earned about $1,000 per migrant, prosecutors say, and also used his home on Cornwall Island as a staging site where people were housed before attempting the crossing. The broader network moved migrants from motels in Cornwall through Akwesasne before loading them onto boats headed for northern New York.

On the night, he housed the Romanian family for nearly 24 hours before driving them to a public boat launch on Cornwall Island on March 29, 2023, the authorities said. 

Then around 9:30 p.m., he left the boat there for his brother, Casey Oakes, who was tasked with piloting the group across the river.

The vessel later capsized, killing the families, as well as Casey Oakes, despite members of the smuggling ring knowing the conditions were dangerous. According to authorities, those conditions included high winds, freezing temperatures and limited visibility. 

Police later identified the Indian victims as Praveenbhai Chaudhari, 50, his wife Dakshaben, 45, their son Meet, 20, and daughter Vidhi, 23.

Pravinbhai Chaudhari, 49, is seen in an undated handout photo alongside his family including wife Dakshaben, 45; son Meet, 20; and 23-year-old daughter, Vidhi. Mehsana Police

Because Akwesasne stretches across Ontario, Quebec and New York state, law enforcement has long identified the territory as a corridor for human smuggling and contraband trafficking.

Several others linked to the operation have already pleaded guilty. 

Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow entered her plea on Oct. 8, 2024, followed by Dakota Montour on Jan. 23, 2025. Janet Terrance also entered her plea on March 6, 2025, according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

Two others — Stephanie Square and Rahsontanohstha Delormier — were extradited from Canada to the United States in 2025 and are awaiting trial.

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