News Releases and Statements

Agustin Gomez Fernandez, 55, and Francisco Javier Figueroa Martinez, 27, were handed over to Mexican law enforcement officials at El Paso’s Stanton Bridge Port of Entry.

Shelia Villegas, 47, of Manila, Arkansas, was found guilty Jan. 7 on methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking charges after a two-day trial.

Dwight McEachin, 19, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. He was arrested by HSI special agents Dec. 15.

Annika Boas, 37, of Mount Rainier was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy, wire fraud and making a false statement on a loan application, arising from a residential mortgage fraud scheme.

Tonderai Sakupwanya was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution. Sakupwanya, who is in custody, pleaded guilty in May 2014 to one count of theft of public funds.

Maria Blake, 45, aka “Jessica,” and “Yvonne,” and her husband, Ronald, 45, are charged with inducing foreign or interstate travel for prostitution.

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Christopher Nixon, 23, was ordered to serve 17.5 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James in the Western District of Louisiana. In addition to his prison term, Nixon is required to serve 15 years of supervised release following the completion of his sentence.

Justin Carter, 31, pleaded guilty Aug. 27. According to court documents, Carter used a computer at a friend’s home to solicit, receive and share images of child pornography.

Michael Centanni, 48, is scheduled to be sentenced April 9. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. He must also register as a sex offender for a minimum period of 15 years.

Roman Sanchez, 33, from Mission, Texas, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison on one count of harboring, encouraging or otherwise inducing an alien to reside illegally in the United States. Sanchez admitted his guilt in a plea agreement, which he signed Sept. 18, 2014.

The operation, dubbed Operation Team Player, resulted in seizures of jerseys, hats, t-shirts and posters. The seizures were part of a crackdown on IPR violators leading up to the NHL Winter Classic. Operation Team Player is an effort by the HSI-led IPR Center that targets counterfeit sports merchandise from all of the major sports leagues.

Richar Steward Cabral Baez, 35, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and two years of supervised release for providing false statements in an application for a passport and misrepresentation of a social security account number.

Law enforcement intercepted thousands of pieces of wood, concealing approximately 423 kilograms of cocaine, in Honduras Dec. 22.

Raymond Scott Vincent, 47, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced to two days in prison followed by 60 days of home confinement as part of 18 months of probation. Judge Paul W. Grimm also ordered Vincent to perform 80 hours of community service, pay a fine of $36,000 and forfeit $42,262.60.

Michael Yellowhorse, born in 1987, from Denver, Colorado, appeared Dec. 29 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Boyd N. Boland for a preliminary hearing and detention hearing.

According to the indictment, Carlos Morales-Davila, Jose Silva-Rentas, Luis Lopez-Fernandez, Jaime Serrano-Cardona, Randy Barbosa-Martinez, Julio Colon-Maldonado, Jorge Acevedo-Martinez, Francisco Pimentel-Maldonado, Alexis Sanchez-Diaz, Jose Claudio-Del Valle, Luis Santana-Mendoza, Jorge Bobonis-Rexach, Felipe Gomez-Encarnacion and Hector Orta-Castro conspired to import cocaine and heroin into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia and Dominican Republic.

Keshav Mukund Bhide, 24, departed on an international flight Wednesday afternoon from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Special agents from HSI and the FBI escorted Bhide to the airport and confirmed his departure. He cannot return to the U.S. for 10 years.

Edwin Amaurys Parra Suarez (Parra), 37, was arrested in connection with a scheme to produce false identification documents.

HSI special agents arrested Hector Antonio Suarez-Rodriguez, 49, after a referral from the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit led to an investigation that revealed that child pornography was shared on numerous occasions through a peer-to-peer file sharing application, utilizing an IP address that was later traced to Suarez-Rodriguez.

Following his prison sentence, Gregory Lynn Hopson, 44, of Westminster, Colorado, was ordered to serve a lifetime supervised release, and register as a sex offender. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis T. Babcock also ordered Hopson to pay restitution to the victim of his crime. Hopson was remanded into custody at the conclusion of the hearing.

The people charged in the superseding indictment are: Adolphus William Cato, 33, Michael Ross, 49, both of Sicklerville, New Jersey; Jared Hayes, 37, Quanda Anthony, 43, both of Willingboro, New Jersey; Sean Finn, 31, of Mount Holly, New Jersey; Rushawn Woodall, 38, of Trenton, New Jersey; Leonard Herrington, 41, Zabrina Jobe, 39, both of Philadelphia; and Warren Moore, 41, of Bordentown, New Jersey.

Federal authorities initially arrested Wayne Morgan, 42, at Philadelphia International Airport on June 6 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered that Morgan made false statements and assumed the identity of a Florida man in his application for a U.S. passport.

James Allen Myers, 67, of Carriere, Mississippi, lived in North Port, Florida, until 2013 when he moved to Carriere. After receiving a tip, HSI special agents found Myers to be in possession of numerous computer hard drives, CDs and other computer devices which contained over 20,000 images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults.