Lawyers seek to dismiss charges against CBP agent, citing 'tainted' grand jury that also handled Broadview Six case
Defense lawyers for a federal Customs and Border Protection officer accused of robbing and assaulting sex workers have asked a federal judge to throw out the indictment, arguing the same "tainted" grand jury that brought the now-vacated "Broadview Six" immigration case handled Uribe's charges — and that key testimony was mistranslated.
CHICAGO — Lawyers for a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent about to go on trial on charges he robbed and sexually assaulted sex workers in Chicago-area hotel rooms have asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment, arguing the same "tainted" grand jury that handled the now-dismissed "Broadview Six" case brought the charges against him.
"Based on what is currently known, the Special June 2024 Grand Jury was irrevocably tainted by government misconduct," argued Michael Clancy, Uribe's lawyer, in a motion filed Monday morning. "And based only on what is currently known, that misconduct not only prejudiced Uribe personally, but was also widespread across multiple investigations and multiple grand juries."
Luis Uribe, 45, was charged in an indictment unsealed in December with 10 counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life. A jury trial in his case is currently set to begin in two weeks.
A grand jury with a troubled past
Clancy said in the motion that he only recently learned that the grand jury involved in Uribe's case was the same panel that had brought charges against the "Broadview Six" immigration protesters in October 2025.
Those charges were ultimately dropped in May after it was discovered the prosecutor in that case, Sheri Mecklenburg, improperly vouched for the strength of the evidence and dismissed jurors who were skeptical of her presentation.
Mecklenburg did not handle Uribe's case. But Clancy's motion said the grand jury heard testimony from several witnesses against Uribe on Oct. 9, the same day the panel returned a "no bill" in the Broadview matter.
It was later revealed that testimony from one alleged Uribe victim on that day was "mistranslated" by a Mandarin interpreter, and that the original transcript was deemed "inaccurate" by the U.S. attorney's office, which eventually certified a revised transcript as what was actually said.
"The later FBI translation and transcript do not cure the gross error of the grand jury receiving mistranslated testimony," Clancy wrote. "That bell cannot be unrung."
Broader fallout
If the indictment against Uribe isn't dismissed outright, Clancy asked U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso to order prosecutors to turn over the full grand jury transcripts and hold a hearing on the matter.
"The need for a hearing follows from a basic principle of fairness: a defendant should not be made to bear the consequence of the government's own failure to create a complete record," Clancy wrote.
The case is the latest example of continuing fallout from the Broadview Six debacle, which has led to charges being reduced or dismissed against half a dozen other defendants so far and prompted calls from Illinois Democrats for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros to step down. U.S. District Judge April Perry is also considering whether to order discovery and hold hearings into possible sanctions in that case.
The allegations
Uribe was charged with using his service weapon and badge to force victims — all of Chinese descent — to submit to sex or provide him with cash on six separate occasions in 2022. One of the four victims was attacked three different times, prosecutors said.
At the time of the alleged offenses, Uribe, a U.S. Marine veteran, was a CBP officer assigned "primarily" to O'Hare International Airport and worked on both customs and immigration issues.
As word of the attacks spread, prosecutors said, another sex worker was tasked by a China-based boss to meet with Uribe at a seafood buffet restaurant in the northwest suburbs. The goal was to surreptitiously get Uribe's photograph so people could be warned and to offer him a deal: free sex if he stopped attacking workers.
"Defendant agreed, however, he did not abide by the terms of the bargain," prosecutors said.
On Oct. 2, 2022, Uribe attacked a third woman, identified in court filings as Victim C, at a hotel in Schaumburg, again brandishing his gun and badge and demanding cash and sex. Two days later, Schaumburg police interviewed that victim and collected forensic evidence from the room.
Tollway records analyzed by the FBI showed Uribe had left work at O'Hare that day and traveled toward Schaumburg. While on the highway, he allegedly searched Google Maps for the hotel where Victim C was staying.
The fourth victim, Victim D, was attacked at a different hotel in Schaumburg a short time after she'd reported Victim C's assault to their boss. In that incident, prosecutors said, Uribe was "about to rape" Victim D when there was a knock at the door and he fled the hotel.