News Releases and Statements

Jose Luis Ramos Jr., 46, was sentenced Sept. 7 to 80 months in federal prison. His sentence is to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Angel Humberto Chavez-Gastelum, 47, who was initially arrested by Mexican authorities in November 2018, in Querétaro, Mexico, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon on charges contained in a 22-count indictment that accuses him of being the principal manager of a narcotics enterprise.

Carlos Antonio Vasquez, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James A. Soto. On April 19, Vasquez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after his arrest on Sept. 24, 2019. 

Noncitizens can create an appointment online using information found on their I-385 form, thus eliminating the need to wait on the phone or travel to an ICE office to make an appointment on a walk-in basis.

Issac Livan Martinez, 23 and Gina Alexandria Guzman, 26, both from San Juan, Texas were charged with conspiracy and harboring noncitizens at a hotel in Pharr, Texas.

Luis Felipe Salazar-Sanchez, 29, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Salazar-Sanchez, a non-U.S. citizen, set to face removal proceedings following completion of his sentence.

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend this policy until Dec. 31, 2021.

On Friday morning, law enforcement executed a state search warrant at a residence on the 7200 block of SR 92 resulting in the arrest of Luis Cesar Fernandez De Castro, 35, of Sierra Vista.

As the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, Philip James Layfield, a.k.a. “Philip Samuel Pesin,” 48, of Las Vegas and formerly of Coto de Caza, was found guilty of 19 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of tax evasion, one count of failure to collect and pay over payroll taxes and one misdemeanor charge of failure to file a tax return. Following the jury verdicts, Layfield was remanded into federal custody.

Robert Andrew Riley, 68, from South Padre Island, Texas, was sentenced Aug. 26, in federal court to 168 months in federal prison.

On Nov. 4, 2020, Bray-Vazquez, a driver for the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, attempted to enter Mexico through the Nogales Port of Entry while driving a U.S. Consular vehicle.

Brent Orton, 63, of Salt Lake City plead guilty to a one-count criminal information filed by federal prosecutors charging him with possession with intent to distribute Alpha PHP in June of 2021. In the plea agreement, Orton admitted to receiving a package of Alpha PHP with the intent to distribute the illegal narcotic.

Hermenegildo Espino-Trejo, 41, was sentenced Aug. 25 in federal court to 240 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including how Espino-Trejo recruited an unwitting truck driver to import a multi-million dollar load of narcotics into the United States.

The jury found the following two aluminum businesses and four warehousing companies – all of which were related to one another – guilty of one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud and seven counts of passing false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse: Perfectus Aluminum Inc.; Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC; Scuderia Development LLC; 1001 Doubleday LLC; Von Karman – Main Street LLC; 10681 Production Avenue LLC.

These smuggling attempts along the coastline of Palos Verdes, Long Beach, San Pedro, Malibu, Newport Beach, and the first-ever panga landing in Santa Catalina Island, resulted in the apprehension of 90 undocumented individuals. While most were adult males of diverse nationalities, females and teenagers were also among those apprehended.

On Aug. 3, HSI special agents seized 12,688 pieces of counterfeit merchandise valued at $13,479,402, an Apple computer, an external hard drive, catalogs listing counterfeit merchandise for sale, and numerous business documents.

Joe Maldonado, 43, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty Dec. 1.

Arturo Muñoz, 67, of Phoenix, was sentenced for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

HSI Nogales Task Force officers seized 6,628 pieces of attire, with an MSRP value of $10,483,082.

Special agents with ICE's HSI joined the East Valley Human Trafficking Taskforce (EVHTTF) on a two-day “Buyer Reduction” or sting operation, which resulted in 18 arrests.

Michael Joseph Pepe, 67, a former resident of Oxnard who has been in federal custody since 2007, was found guilty of four felony offenses – two counts of traveling in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

Leonel Avalos-Santoyo, 50, was sentenced in U.S. district court to 46 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Avalos-Santoyo pleaded guilty June 6.

Kyle Doussett, 49, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson to ten years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. Doussett was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee and may be ordered to pay restitution, to be determined at a later date.

Christopher Faust, 32, from Sacramento, California, was convicted Aug. 11, in U.S. federal court after a jury deliberated fewer than four hours.

ICE will help victims seek justice and facilitate access to immigration benefits for noncitizens who have been victims of crime. This new policy is designed to improve victims’ ability to seek justice against perpetrators of crime, including in cases of human trafficking.