News Releases and Statements

Christopher James Swicegood, 22, was found by HSI special agents to be a user of a foreign website used extensively by traders of child pornography. A lead from foreign law enforcement initiated the investigation in January 2013, which uncovered evidence of not only child pornography but actual sexual conduct with children, according to court records.

On June 23, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) surged personnel to the RGV as part of HSI's efforts to target and dismantle human smuggling operations across the southwest border. Less than a month into this operation, 192 smugglers and their associates have already been arrested on criminal charges, more than 501 undocumented immigrants have been taken into custody and more than $625,000 in illicit profits have been seized from 288 bank accounts held by human smuggling and drug trafficking organizations.

During the course of an ongoing drug smuggling investigation, HSI Douglas special agents developed information about a possible drug stash house located in Whetstone, Arizona. Agents initiated surveillance on the property and observed a pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer pull up to the house. Subsequently, several individuals were seen loading it with bales of marijuana. Agents then alerted Sierra Vista police.

The Northland crew seized the marijuana; detained the crew composed of Michael Dacosta, Shawn A. Ally, Nolan E. Connelly, Ron D. Griffith and Owen K. Drakes; and transferred the illegal drug shipment to CCSF special agents who will be leading a criminal investigation into the case.

Justin Stevens, 31, was also ordered to serve 25 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending July 18, 2014

Jesse Edgardo Herrera's arrest came after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers observed irregularities in the surfboard he had checked with his baggage on an outbound Qantas Airlines flight destined for Sydney, Australia.

Kwan Yong Choi, 72, of Fresno, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. In addition to the prison term, Choi was also ordered to pay $2.1 million in restitution to 13 victims of his investment fraud scheme here in the U.S.

Michael Brian Grzybowicz, 30, of Cocoa, was also sentenced to a lifetime term of supervision following his release. A federal jury found Grzybowicz guilty of producing, distributing and possessing child pornography. He was also sentenced to another 10-year prison term to run concurrent to the 30-year sentence.

On May 6, Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, of Rockville, Maryland, was convicted of 13 counts related to his involvement in a scheme to illegally import thousands of vials of chemotherapy drugs, injectable cosmetic drugs and devices – none of which were approved by the FDA – into the United States.

If convicted, Renee Gregg, 35, of Bradenton, faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison for the production charge. For the transportation charge, she faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years imprisonment.

Kustoms Products, Inc., owner Harold Ray Bettencourt II, 60, of Coos Bay; his sons, Bo Bettencourt, 34, Nicholas Ryan Bettencourt, 32, and Peter Tracy Bettencourt, 28, of North Bend; and company office manager, Margo Antoinette Densmore, 43, also of Coos Bay, will be sentenced along with the corporation in December for fraudulently obtaining some 750 Department of Defense (DOD) contracts with values in excess of $10 million.

Charles Franklin Hudson Jr., 38, of Jacksonville, faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release on each count. He was arrested in Jacksonville Jan. 8, and has been in custody since that time.

This three-year investigation was conducted as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) which includes the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), FBI, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Department of State, Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department.

Joseph Edgar Brown, of Seattle, pleaded guilty to the charge in May. Prosecutors say it was a tip from Google to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led investigators to look into email accounts used to distribute child pornography, including images of adults raping infants.

Randy Dale Barber, 42, of Tampa, was also ordered to forfeit $413,106, and to pay restitution to Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) in the amount of $37,921.20. He previously pleaded guilty Feb. 28.

HSI special agents arrested Andy Misael Campos-Rivera, 30, after a referral from the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit led to an investigation that revealed that a person with Campos-Rivera's computer Internet Protocol address logged on to the Internet and shared child pornography on numerous occasions.

Fayez Al-Jabri, 45, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas. In addition to his prison term, Al-Jabri will serve three years of supervised release and must pay $15,066.92 in restitution. On March 21, Al-Jabri pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to introduce misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce, and to import such goods contrary to U.S. law; he also pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods; and one count of introducing counterfeit drugs into interstate commerce in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

Jose A. Padilla, of Weslaco, a former deputy commander with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, who served under the leadership of Trevino, pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe, in a separate, but related case. Nine others, including drug trafficker Tomas Reyes Gonzalez, aka "El Gallo," were convicted in relation to the underlying narcotics/money laundering conspiracy. They will all be sentenced Sept. 18 by U.S District Judge Randy Crane.

The 17-count indictment alleges that the defendants were involved in a large-scale BZP distribution ring run from May 2013 through April 2014. HSI special agents first became aware of the organization in May 2013, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized an industrial pill press imported from China after it was found to be fraudulently labeled for shipment.

Jason King, 39, of Brownsburg, Indiana, was sentenced July 16 to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued the sentence after King pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography.

Idelfonso Garcia-Benitez, 21, crashed his vehicle carrying 14 smuggled aliens when he attempted to avoid a traffic stop by Kingsville Police. Seven people were killed and seven injured when he crashed the extended cab truck he was driving.

The indictment was returned under seal May 21 and unsealed in its entirety July 16 after Ceasar Santiago Arroyo, 49, of Puerto Rico, surrendered to agents in Houston. Also charged and previously arrested were the following Houston residents: Mary Louise Flores, 43, Fernando Emmanuel Bustos, 31, Rudy Alexander Martinez, 33, and Israel Arquimides Martinez, 37.

On July 14, a group of adults with children who recently crossed the border were returned to Central America. As President Obama, the Vice President, and Secretary Johnson have said, our border is not open to illegal migration and we will send recent illegal migrants back.

Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced Babar Ahmad, 40, to 150 months of imprisonment, and Syed Talha Ahsan, 34, to approximately 96 months of imprisonment, time already served.