News Releases and Statements

Robert James Fox, aka Robert Fotti, 65, was escorted to the Pembina, North Dakota, Port of Entry Oct. 6 and turned over to Canadian law enforcement authorities.

Henry Gill, 44, from South Carolina was found guilty following a two-day trial that started Oct.5.

David Anthony Lavera, 33, of San Diego, California, had his initial appearance and arraignment Oct. 7 on federal child pornography charges in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., 69, a priest at the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, was originally charged by criminal complaint and arrested on Sept. 25.

Heakyung Kim, 51, of South Korea, was admitted into the United States in March 2014 under the Visa Waiver Program with authorization to remain in the United States until June 25, but she did not depart the United States in accordance with the program.

Stanley Zdon III, 28, of Tuckerton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to the charge in March. As part of his guilty plea, Zdon admitted that from December 2012 to October 2013 he conspired to produce child pornography with Jonathan Johnson, the administrator of the enterprise in Abita Springs.

According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to smuggle at least 30 known shipments, totaling about 100,000 pills, from China to Texas. As alleged in the indictment, the shipments contained bogus imitations of Xanax, Valium, sibutramine, Cialis, Viagra and Stilnox (which is marketed in the United States as Ambien). None of the pills seized and tested were legitimate; all either contained incorrect active ingredients or were sub-potent.

Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 19, a U.S. citizen from Bolingbrook, Illinois, was charged with attempting to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), aka the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Juan Morales-Boyzo, 40, was escorted to the Juarez Lincoln Port in Laredo, Texas, and turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities (Procuraduría General de la República) Oct. 3.

These counterfeit parts usually bear the trademark of a legitimate and trusted brand, but they were produced by another party and are not made to the specifications of the original equipment manufacturer. They're often produced illegally and sold at a profit to fund other criminal activities.

Karsten Puschmann, 51, of Kiel, Germany, appeared in federal court Friday. In addition to the 189-month jail term, Puschmann will be subject to a lifetime of supervision following his release from prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Jorge Zavala-Yanes, 43, was arrested outside his place of employment in Aurora, Colorado, where he worked as a security guard. Zavala illegally possessed a loaded Glock 27 .40-caliber handgun at the time of his arrest.

Victor Samuel Vargas Giron, 20, and Wilson Adalid Beltran, 24, allegedly raped and killed Escolasticos Bustillo Landero. According to local police, the homicide occurred in June outside of a local bar in Cifuentes. It's alleged that Vargas Giron and Adalid Beltran used a bicycle chain to choke Landero.

The GTO, which will go into effect Oct. 9, was sought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, which is working with HSI and the IRS Criminal Investigation division to fight money laundering schemes designed to allow international drug cartels in Central America and South America to reach drug proceeds generated in the U.S.

The division will be a part of the Attorney General's Multicounty Grand Jury Unit, and it will provide Oklahoma with the first comprehensive, statewide focus on combating criminal money laundering activities.

Tyler Coons, 23, of Springfield, Missouri, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday.

Todd Fleming, 54, from McKinney, Texas, pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to sexually exploiting children before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell.

Alper Calik, 38, of Ankara, Turkey, was arrested upon his entry into the United States Sept. 13 and charged with two counts of mail fraud for submitting fraudulent contracts to the DoD claiming to produce items in the United States that were actually manufactured in Turkey. Calik also faces one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act for downloading thousands of military technical drawings while outside the United States without prior approval from the U.S. Department of State.

Christopher Steele, aka Mike Dozer, 33, was convicted for use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and receipt of child pornography.

Abdul Masood Qayumi, 25, of Surrey, B.C., and his brother Abdul Masih Qayumi, 26, marketed and sold more than $33,000 worth of counterfeit Honda, BMW and Toyota airbags on eBay for about one year, according to court records. HSI special agents began their investigation after American Honda Motor Corporation alerted investigators of the brothers' online sales scheme.

According to court documents, Nina Renee Calderon, 23, became involved in a conspiracy to produce child pornography when she was contacted by co-conspirator Robert Harold Scott Jr. under his online identity of "Mike Pyro."

This investigation resulted in the seizure of more than $3.9 million from a residence in suburban Park Ridge in April 2013, as well as dozens of kilograms of cocaine, heroin and marijuana.

The three defendants – including Victor Flores, 23, of Petaluma; Benjamin Campos-Gonzalez, 24, of San Mateo; and Armando Acosta, 29, of South San Francisco – were convicted of racketeering conspiracy.

Cassandra Camacho, 25, of Mission, Texas; and Juan Ivan Rodriguez, 34, and Nestor Leal-Cedillo, 24, of Reynoso, Mexico, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez. Camacho was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison; Rodriguez and Leal-Cedillo received respective sentences of 37 and 60 months. All three had pleaded guilty to the charges; Leal-Cedillo pleaded guilty June 12, and Camacho and Rodriguez July 1.

Damion St. Patrick Baston, 37, of New York, was convicted July 3 on three counts of sex trafficking – both in the U.S. and Australia – five counts of transporting multiple individuals for prostitution, one count of importation of an alien for prostitution, one count of using a passport secured by false statement, one count of aggravated identity theft and nine counts of money laundering. Baston was also found guilty of illegally reentering the United States after being previously removed.