A dual Canadian-American citizen has pleaded guilty to her role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of a Romanian family of four and a boat operator in the St. Lawrence River three years ago.
Stephanie Square, 53, of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court after being extradited from Canada.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Square was the U.S.-based leader of a human smuggling network operating through Akwesasne, a Mohawk territory straddling the Canada-U.S. border near Cornwall, Ont.
Court documents state that in March 2023, Square was contacted by a Canadian smuggler to help transport a Romanian family, including two children under the age of three, into the United States.
Despite high winds, freezing temperatures and poor visibility, Square insisted on moving forward with the crossing so she could be paid.
On the evening of March 29, 2023, the family left Cornwall Island by boat. The vessel capsized in severe weather, killing the Romanian family of four and the boat’s captain, Casey Oakes.
Akwesasne man pleads guilty in smuggling case that left family with 2 toddlers dead
Authorities recovered the family’s bodies shortly after. Oakes’ body was located eight months later.
Square pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for financial gain and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death.
She is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 25 and faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.
Several co-conspirators have also entered guilty pleas, including Rahsontanohstha Delormier, who was extradited alongside Square in 2025 and pleaded guilty in June.
