News Releases and Statements

Miguel Alexander Guevara-Quintanea, 22, was repatriated on board a charter flight coordinated by ERO’s Air Operations Unit.

Kyle B. Rains, 31, of Park City, Kansas, was sentenced to 165 months in prison following his conviction on one count of distributing child pornography.

On Friday, HSI special agent Alvin Medina was recognized by U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde for his outstanding support during the vice president’s Brazil visit during the 2014 World Cup.

Paul Lawrence Vella, 60, of Morgan Hill, was sentenced Jan. 15 to 59 months in prison for possession of child pornography.

Jurors returned guilty verdicts Jan. 16 for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking against gang members Deion Lockhart, 26; Richard Gray, 25; Emmanual Lockhart, 24, and Timothy McCullouch, Jr., 29, who is a former El Paso County juvenile probation officer.

Brian Richard Farrell, 26, who was known on the Silk Road site as “DoctorClu,” came to the attention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in July.

More than $5 million in cash and assets were seized during the investigation of large-scale drug trafficker Ronald Belciano, age 42, of Newtown Square (formerly Villanova), Pennsylvania.

Special agents with the HSI Miami dive team provided the training, the first of its kind in Colombia. The training focused on techniques to help law enforcement identify contraband concealed in the hulls of cargo ships and in parasitic devices. The students were also taught evidence and cadaver recovery.

Gamaliel Cortez-Mendoza, 43, an illegal alien residing in Laredo was arrested Thursday following an investigation by the Laredo Child Exploitation Task Force led by HSI and the Webb County Sheriff's Office Cyber Crime Unit with assistance from Laredo Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Marshals Service.

According to court documents, Brian John McRee, 51, of Jacksonville, attempted to entice a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity. Unbeknownst to him, the “girl” was a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity.

ICE Director Sarah Saldaña and Manuel Castro Castillo, major general of the National Police of the Dominican Republic, signed the Criminal History Information Sharing (CHIS) memorandum at ICE’s headquarters Wednesday. Deputy Assistant Secretary Luis E. Arreaga of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also attended the ceremony.

At a news conference Friday, representatives from the three agencies detailed the results of three intellectual property theft cases, including two involving HSI. The seized goods included counterfeit NFL-branded sportswear, designer clothing, videos, smartphones and even electronic audio products worth over $800,000.

Mario Manzur Reyes, 31, of Tampa, was sentenced to five years and ten months in federal prison and Santos Rene Herrera-Cruz, 50, of Tampa was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.

HSI special agents arrested Marcellus Overton, 39, after he was charged federally with sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The charges carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Belluardo was honored for tracking down a hit-and-run driver that fled from New Jersey to Annapolis, Maryland. The hit-and-run accident, which occurred on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, resulted in the death of Michael Viruet and serious injuries to his brother, Adrian Viruet.

Ray Carl Short, 66, admitted in a plea agreement to hiding a video camera in the bedroom of a minor to capture images of the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct. An undercover investigation by HSI special agents in Wilmington, Delaware, uncovered Short’s interest in online child pornography.

Rateb Said Najjar, 60, and his son, Eyad Rateb Najjar, 36, both of Westminster, are each charged with 134 felony counts of money laundering; six felony counts of manufacturing and sale of a counterfeit mark; two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime with sentencing enhancements for property damage over $1.3 million; and money laundering in excess of $2.5 million.

During the six-week sting operation, authorities placed targeted ads for sexual services in an online publication known to promote prostitution-related activities. When the defendants called the telephone numbers listed, it was made clear that the services were being offered by underage girls. Arrangements were then made for the men to meet the girls at an Aurora hotel. They were taken into custody when they arrived.

Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez, 23, of Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Saenz-Tamez entered his guilty plea Jan. 13 before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

According to the plea agreement, in April 2013, Nicholas Mitko Clark, 22, of Yulee, used an instant messaging service to chat with an individual in Canada, with whom he exchanged child pornography.

Jorge Estrada -Tepal, 37, and Ricardo Estrada -Tepal, 33, of Queens, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking involving forces, fraud, and coercion. Victor Leonel Estrada -Tepal, 29, of Queens, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.

Jamie Harmon, aka Jamie Harley, 57, of Morgan Hill, was convicted in 2010 of five counts of laundering monetary instruments following a three-week trial.

Brian P. Davis, 50, of Dundalk, was also ordered to serve a lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. following his prison sentence and register as a sex offender.

According to the plea agreement, between July 2012 and March 2014, Benjamin Cuadrado, 40, of Lakeland, coerced an infant and a toddler to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing multiple videos of the conduct.

According to court documents, Jaime Gerardo Serrano-Villegas, 28, assisted others with moving a boat filled with Mexican nationals across the Rio Grande River, towards Rio Bravo, Texas.