News Releases and Statements

Darwin Gilbert Gowen, 61, of St. Louis, Missouri, made his initial appearance where he was advised of his rights and the charges pending against him. He is due back in court July 2 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix for a detention hearing.

If convicted, Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani Mohammad Assaf, 45, of Jordan, and Yasser Ahmad Obeid, 19, of Lebanon, face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment on each firearms and export violation charge, and five years imprisonment for the conspiracy offenses.

Sergio Gallardo-Sanchez, 33, was escorted by ERO officers to the Brownsville Port of Entry in Texas and turned over to Mexican law-enforcement authorities early Friday.

Paul Michael Barbour, who worked for Cypress-based Kids Artistic Review (KAR), fell under suspicion late last month after a digital video camera belonging to the defendant was discovered in a dressing room used by teenage girls taking part in a dance contest at Cypress College. Barbour was originally taken into custody June 1 by detectives with the Cypress Police Department on state charges filed by the Orange County District Attorney's Office accusing him of possession of child pornography and possession of a controlled substance.

Travis Humphrey, 26, of Wilkes-Barre, pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani.

In addition to the 188 months imprisonment, Antonio Lira-Robles, 38, of Mexico, was sentenced to five years supervised release, for the sex trafficking of one victim, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of approximately $1.2 million.

Those arrested face charges for their alleged roles in a large scale car theft scheme that shipped stolen luxury vehicles from New Mexico to Mexico in exchange for methamphetamine and heroin.

Claudia Arreola, 35, of El Monte, who owns California Immigration Services (CIS), and her business associate, Leticia Gutierrez, 35, Pico Rivera, were taken into custody by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The two women were charged in a six-count indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury.

Renato de la Cruz, 40, was convicted on Wednesday of theft of public money, use of a falsely obtained Social Security Number, and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Oct. 14.

Arley Fernando Garces, 34, of Colombia, pleaded guilty on April 14. Garces is the last of three co-defendants to be sentenced in this case. U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew also previously sentenced Santos Cerros-Maldonado to 12 years and four months in prison. Gregorio Campo-Rodriguez was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison.

Patrick R. Minga, 50, formerly of Cape Coral, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 20.

Mustafa Muhammad, 36, of Clinton, Maryland, faces between 10 years and life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 11.

According to court documents, HSI conducted consent searches of various locations in the Mission, Texas area on Oct. 24, 2012. These locations were known to harbor illegal immigrants. During the search at Los Benitez Ranch, special agents encountered the seven defendants.

Robert Jacaman Sr., 60, former owner of Jacaman Guns and Ammo, was sentenced June 24 by visiting U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison to 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jacaman, who pleaded guilty in January, was further ordered to pay a $4,000 fine. As a convicted felon, Jacaman surrendered his federal firearms license, is no longer a firearms dealer and is prohibited from possessing firearms, ammunition and destructive devices.

Abel De Leon, 60, of Asherton, Texas, was sentenced on one count of receiving child pornography. De Leon had previously pleaded guilty to the charge June 5, 2013.

Alvin Westley, 50, of Palestine, Texas, previously pleaded guilty in January to possessing child pornography. He was sentenced June 24 to 156 months in federal prison.

Osbaldo Carrillo-Peralta, 39, was escorted to the Brownsville Port of Entry and turned over to Mexico's Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) June 24. On April 13, 2011, the 8th Judicial Court of the State of Durango, Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Carrillo-Peralta for homicide.

Richard Donald Ragsdale, 56, of Tampa, made his initial appearance on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun, III.

One way HSI helps foster such an environment is through workshops like the one it hosted June 16-18, when HSI Hong Kong partnered with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service – Overseas Criminal Investigations Division, the American Institute in Taiwan, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking International to share knowledge and techniques concerning online child exploitation investigations.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending June 20, 2014

Jerry J. Zechmeister, 61, of Lake Forest, was taken into custody Thursday by investigators from the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force (OCCETF), including special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and detectives from the Newport Beach Police Department.

HSI special agents arrested Oscar Gonzalez-Vazquez at his residence after a preliminary investigation revealed that he produced sexually explicit images of a 4-year-old girl.

As part of the PSA campaign, Radio One will air on two Columbus-area stations a 30-second and 60-second PSA, which features HSI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis discussing some basic tips on how parents and young people can avoid online predators.

According to the complaint filed Monday in Newark federal court, Cellular Next, which operates out of New York and Miami, and is registered as a business entity in New Jersey, has a history of receiving proceeds from illegal drug sales. HSI Newark special agents along with DEA and NYDETF investigators acting in an undercover capacity sent wire transfers of these illegal proceeds to the company at the direction of BMPE brokers based in Colombia.

David Wayne Sweet Jr., of St. Leonard, must also register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.