News Releases and Statements

Robert J. Gongloff, 26, of Terra Alta, West Virginia, pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of production of child pornography. By pleading guilty, Gongloff admitted that he had produced numerous images and videos depicting nude minors and minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

As an IMAGE certified member, Big Y is recognized as an exceptional employer and a role model in the business community. IMAGE certified employers are committed to hiring only authorized workers whose identity and eligibility to work in the United States is documented.

Amurabi Medina-Cruz, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey to 71 months in prison for alien smuggling.

Justin Ryan Serna, 28, from Corpus Christi, was sentenced Jan. 19 by District Judge John D. Rainey to 180 months in federal prison. He was also sentenced to serve 10 years of supervised release; and he must also register as a sex offender. Serna pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2015.

Diane Maxine Richards 60, of Kingman, was indicted Jan. 12 by a state grand jury on 23 felony counts – including theft, forgery and misuse of public money. Richards is currently in custody at the Mohave County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

Nimon Naphaeng, 34, a native and citizen of Thailand, who currently resides in Wakefield, Rhode Island, was charged with a 26-count indictment, for charges including visa fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and international money laundering.

Jamie Sailas, 30, of Metro Denver, pleaded guilty Jan. 15, 2016 to producing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martinez. Sailas is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Martinez April 28.

Jose Stephen Gracia, 45, was sentenced to life in federal prison Jan. 20 by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone for producing child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charges July 27, 2015.

Julio Francisco Alvarado was turned over to ICE in Buffalo, New York, Oct. 9, 2015, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered him at the Rainbow Bridge. CBP officers re-instated an earlier issued deportation order against Alvarado, who had a prior removal in 2004.

Robert Allen Paul Bryan, 41, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to the charges June 4, 2015 before U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan.

Ken Ngombwa, 56, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of the following crimes: one count of unlawfully procuring or attempting to procure naturalization or citizenship; one count of procuring citizenship to which he was not entitled; one count of conspiracy to unlawfully procure citizenship; and one count of making a materially false statement to agents of the Department of Homeland Security.

Corey Norris aka “Case,” or “Jacorey Johnson,” 26, of the historic Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Felipe Martinez Ramirez, 48, of Ozona, Texas, enticed a girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at a residence in Ozona, and he used a cell phone to record that conduct reflected in a bathroom mirror.

All 15 arrested have been convicted of crimes in the United States and fall within ICE’s enforcement priorities for deportation. Their convictions include: homicide by negligent use of a vehicle, strangulation and suffocation, battery, burglary, theft, domestic abuse, drug possession and drunk driving. The group also included three previously deported aliens.

Micky Punjabi, 36, and his brother Hitesh Punjabi, 33, both of Peabody, Massachusetts, were charged with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, specifically iPhone components that bore Apple trademarks but were not genuine Apple products.

Kwamaine J. Wells, 26, of Brockton, Massachusetts, was indicted on two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, four counts of transportation of an individual with intent to engage in prostitution, and one count of conspiracy to transport an individual for prostitution. Akil J. DeCoteau, 27, of Boston, was indicted on one count of transportation of an individual with intent to engage in prostitution and one count of conspiracy.

Luis Enrique Guevara, 45, of Brownsville, Texas, pleaded guilty June 4, 2015, admitting that he transported three illegal aliens.

Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, was charged in a sealed indictment returned Jan. 6. These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Houston Police Department.

ICE Executive Associate Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Thomas D. Homan was one of three DHS career executives who received a 2015 Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service, which is bestowed to leaders who’ve achieved sustained extraordinary results.

Eric M. Shaffer, 42, of Modesto, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Shaffer regularly had access to new goods delivered by vendors that were stored at the Tracy DLA Depot before being shipped to military bases in the Pacific Ocean region and elsewhere.

Matthew Rutledge, 33, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison, and Joel Prickett, 37, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

This investigation was generated by members of the HSI “Green Twister Task Force” comprised of the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), Oklahoma City Police Department, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, and the Canadian County (Oklahoma) Sheriff’s Department.

ERO officers removed General José Guillermo García-Merino, 82, from the United States to San Salvador, El Salvador, via an ICE Air Operations charter aircraft. They arrested him Dec. 17 in Florida.

Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered Jacob Seth Thornton, 29, of Lubbock, Texas, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons Feb. 12 to begin serving his prison sentence.