News Releases and Statements

Saud Saleh, 30, owned and operated Twinz Meat Market, a retail grocery store, now defunct, that was located at 3083 Kensington Ave. in Philadelphia. At his guilty plea hearing, the defendant admitted that he knowingly trafficked in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program.

On June 15, 2013, Sekouba Konate, 51, arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Ethiopia illegally carrying thousands of dollars in undeclared cash.

Marcus McIntosh, 59, was found guilty of the charges contained in an Aug. 26, 2014 federal indictment, which identified his role in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine between April 1 and Aug. 8, 2014.

Robert Wayne Collins, 62, of Kingsville, Texas, pleaded guilty Dec. 1 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice B. Ellington. The court heard that authorities, while using peer-to-peer file-sharing software, were able to successfully download various files containing child pornography from an Internet Protocol address that was associated with Collins.

Raul Mendoza, 51, of Denver, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson Nov. 20. Judge Jackson also ordered the forfeiture of 19 vehicles and currency in the amount of $5,277.16. Mendoza owned Chopeque Auto Sales in Commerce City, and used the dealership to launder drug proceeds.

“This effort highlights the global commitment to take aggressive action against online piracy,” said IPR Center Director Bruce Foucart. “The IPR Center will continue to collaborate with international law enforcement and industry to protect consumers from purchasing counterfeit goods online, which could expose sensitive financial information and present a health and safety threat.”

According to court records, the defendants conspired to obtain reimbursement payments from the Virginia Medicaid Assistance Program by submitting false claims for mental health support services in 2011 and 2012.

Sean Patrick Mciver, 28, was sentenced to 72 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey. McIver was further ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. Mciver pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 3.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending Nov. 27, 2015

James E. McGary, 43, of Garden City, Kansas, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. In his plea, he admitted that in October 2012 his computer was identified by law enforcement as sharing child pornography on a file-sharing network.

Billy Wynn Jr., 32, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was also sentenced by U. S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 20 years of supervised release and to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced Andres Silva, 36, to 210 months and Melissa Slade, 40, to 240 months in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Rahmad Lashad Geddes, aka “Face,” aka “Poo Poo,” 36, from Blaine, Minnesota, was sentenced to 282 months in federal prison after being convicted of the following charges: on one count of sex trafficking, one count of transportation with intent to engage in prostitution, and one count of being a career criminal in possession of a firearm.

Christopher Halligan, 47, of Emerado, North Dakota, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison based on his conviction on one count of receiving and three counts of possessing child pornography. Emerado is a small town near the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

According to Salvadoran police reports, on Dec. 24, 2004, Rafael Antonio Vaquerano was drinking with the victim when an argument ensued. Vaquerano took out his weapon and fired one shot hitting the victim in the abdomen. The victim subsequently passed away.

Su Qin Yang, 45, who resided in Rosemead prior to fleeing to China in 2012, pleaded guilty in May to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods and admitted in her plea agreement that she trafficked in almost four million counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes and almost 4,000 counterfeit Viagra pills.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer Alan Bersin and Peru’s Deputy Superintendent of the National Tax Administration (SUNAT) Iván Luyo signed an agreement Friday establishing a Trade Transparency Unit (TTU).

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending Nov. 20, 2015

Over a two-day period, authorities arrested five defendants in Mexico and two in Queens, New York, as part of a coordinated bilateral law enforcement action. The defendants are Jovan Rendon-Reyes; Saul Rendon-Reyes; Guillermina Rendon-Reyes; Francisco Rendon-Reyes; Jose Rendon-Garcia; Felix Rojas; Odilon Martinez-Rojas; and Severiano Martinez-Rojas.

A North Texas man was sentenced Monday to 240 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

A Wichita Falls, Texas, man was sentenced by to serve 235 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

Carlos Alejandro Hernandez, 23, was encountered July 11 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, after he illegally crossed the border into the United States. On Oct. 5 an immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States.

The committee’s charter requires that membership consist of up to 15 members, representing a variety of perspectives, with at least one representative from each of the following disciplines: primary education, immigration law, physical and mental health, trauma-informed services, family and youth services, detention management and detention reform.

Sally Iriri, 33, a Nigerian national who was living in Chicago, was sentenced Nov. 20 by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, Western District of Wisconsin, for wire fraud. Iriri’s co-defendant, Michael Adegoke, 33, also a Nigerian national, was arrested in Atlanta Nov. 3.

Following are the defendants who are charged in this superseding indictment: Ramon Aguilar; Christopher Alexander; William Lee Benham; Eric Scott Benson; Ronnie Mikel Brown; Jonas Carrera; Hugo Ivan Castaneda; John Anthony Chavez Jr.; Justo Salvador Chavez Jr.; Micah Torrence Dees; Abraham Dimas Jr.; Tina Wynette Easley; Crissy Lynn Evans; Taylor Maxlynn Fletcher; Joe Lee Foard, Jr.; Michael William Getsinger; Alejandro Gonzalez; Quincy John Goodson; Michael Thor Guinn; Tommy Dare Hancock; David Lesley Holt; David Wayne Holt; Brennan Nicole House; Desirae Ann Houser; Beau James Jarnagin; Jeff Jeremy Johnston; Kory Wade Kloecker; Jimmy David Lance; Samantha Ladell Largent; Blake Allen Long-Rockey; Ricardo Garcia Medina; Benjamin Matthew Melton; Craig Don Mueller; Brian Casey Mullins; Stacy Wayne Myers; James Marshall Nation; Wendy Renee Neal; Mackenzie Nelson; Raymond Anthony Nichols; Shanna Lynn Palmer; Christian Perez; Francisco Manuel Radamez-Nava; Jorge Ramirez; Bruce Chance Rash; John James Rumfield; Jackie Lemonds Segura; Brandon Kyle Smith; Alicia Gale Tambourine; Jamie Lynn Tucker; Troy Anthony Wallace; Roger Wayne Whitworth Jr.; and John Fitzgerald Yates (deceased).