News Releases and Statements

Paul Michael Barbour, 33, who previously worked for Cypress-based Kids Artistic Review (KAR), is scheduled to be sentenced October 20, 2014. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

On Jan. 3, 2012, HSI New York and HSI Attaché Rome arrested Arnold Peter Weiss, 54, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. At the time of his arrest, Weiss, a Rhode Island resident, believed himself to be in possession of two stolen dekadrachma from Agrigento, Sicily. Under Italian law, the removal of any artifacts discovered in the region after 1909 is prohibited by the country's cultural heritage and protection laws. Weiss, however, believed the stolen coins to be worth millions of dollars, and planned to trade them at a New York auction.

The SEVIS 6.17 release includes a name standardization impact report, which provides school and exchange visitor program officials with a list of names that do not meet the naming standards that SEVP plans to implement in April 2015. Names with special characters, non-Roman alphanumeric characters and extra spaces will not meet the new standards.

Rudy Alberto Gonzalez Rocha, 29, and his brother, Eloy Damian Gonzalez Rocha, 33, both of Jalisco, Mexico, were previously convicted in federal court of being aliens in possession of firearms.

David Waldrop, 56, of Luling, Texas, was sentenced Monday to 76 months in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey, to be immediately followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Derrick Gossett, 33, originally arrested on state charges, was taken into custody on child pornography allegations Sept. 6, 2013. He made his initial appearance shortly thereafter and was ordered into custody, where he has remained since that time.

Matthew C. Harbin, 28, of Arab, Alabama, is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2009 to state charges of transmitting obscene material to a minor. He is the latest fugitive to be profiled on the ICE smartphone app, seeking public tips on at-large and unknown child predator suspects.

On July 6, Garcia-Huezo became ill and was immediately transferred from ICE custody to the Laredo Medical Center (LMC). LMC hospital staff initially diagnosed him with cardiac arrest. A medical examiner will review the case regarding the cause of death.

The HER​O​ Child-Rescue Corps internship is a private-public partnership between the National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT), HSI and U.S. Special Operations Command, in which carefully selected veterans are trained in digital forensics and child exploitation work and then embedded in HSI field offices around the country.

Alex Martinez, 41, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 39 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt for making false statements to purchase firearms, and then unlawfully exporting those firearms from the United States to Honduras.

Matthew Tinkle, 27, of Heber Springs, was initially indicted with two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Universal Aerospace, Co. Inc., is now among the hundreds of businesses to sign on as an "IMAGE" or "ICE Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers" partner. IMAGE is a voluntary program that allows businesses to partner with the agency to reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents. Universal Aerospace supplies companies including C&D Zodiac, B/E Aerospace and Jamco America.

According cellular phone records obtained in the case, Maximilano Reynoso, 39, of Winter Haven, was in direct contact with methamphetamine sources of supply in Mexico. Reynoso's co-defendant, Gerardo Millian, 29, of Auburndale, was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison April 24.

The 22 law enforcement officials are joining the fight against transnational criminal organizations after spending three weeks in classroom seminars and practical exercises as part of the ITAT program, which provides vetted foreign law enforcement officers with training very similar to that of the agency's special agents.

The following individuals are each charged with one count of unlawfully manufacturing/delivering a controlled substance, a Class X Felony: Luis Hernandez, 47; Jose Hernandez, 27; and Andres Hernandez, 24, all of Elgin, Illinois. Luis Hernandez is the father of both Jose and Andres Hernandez. All three were taken into custody without incident.

Raymundo Silva, 35, was indicted in August 2013 on conspiracy, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. His two co-defendants were also indicted at the same time: Christina Knight, 29, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Patricia Diaz, 35, of Los Lunas, N.M.

Pedro Curiel-Herrera, 35, was transferred to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General's Office at the San Ysidro port of entry. Curiel is charged with homicide in an arrest warrant issued in January 1999 in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Antonio M. Taylor, 30, was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison without parole after being convicted on nine separate criminal counts.

The newly modified Karnes County Residential Center (KCRC) is one of several facilities the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using to increase its capacity to detain and expedite the removal of adults with children who illegally crossed the Southwest border.

Robert Miller, 65, of Hackensack, faces felony charges distributing images of child pornography over the Internet. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court Wednesday afternoon and was ordered held without bail.

In addition, Franklin Stuart King, 40, was ordered to serve a life term of supervision and register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

Daniel M. Layne, 34, was sentenced to a total of 300 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David Hittner. Evidence presented at the hearing established that Layne had been communicating via the Internet with underage girls and discussing engaging in sexual activity with them.

Gary Kent, 41, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge R. Padova. He was indicted by a federal grand jury May 30, 2013 and pleaded guilty January 24, 2014 to one count each of distribution of child pornography and possession of child exploitation material.

Solorzano-Tavila, Sesmas-Borja and Cesmas-Borja were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal, to respective terms of 60, 54 and 51 months in federal prison for the conspiracy charge. In addition, each will serve consecutive 60-month sentences for using a firearm resulting in total sentences ranging from 120 to 111 months in federal prison.