News Releases and Statements

Of the 63 arrested, all individuals had prior criminal convictions, including: criminal sexual conduct against a minor; larceny; bribing a public official; manufacture, delivery and possession of controlled substances including heroin, cocaine and marijuana; and, weapons offenses.

On Nov. 8, 2013, HSI special agents arrested Dolores Pagan-Lozada at his place of residence after an HSI investigation, which stemmed from a referral by the Puerto Rico Police Department, revealed that he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a 16-year-old minor identified as Jane Doe.

Lina Sun, 54, and Chenglun Ma, 57, pleaded guilty to racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin.

Glenn Bailey, 56, is alleged to have knowingly possessed videos and images of child pornography, including images which depict prepubescent minors and minors who have not attained 12 years of age. The content was then allegedly shipped and transported in interstate or foreign commerce by means of a computer. If convicted, he faces a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Peter Picone, 41, of Methuen, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez of the District of Connecticut to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit military goods. In a plea agreement with the government, he also agreed to forfeit $70,050 and almost 13,000 counterfeit integrated circuits seized at his home and business in April.

Jose Efrain Martinez-Aguilar, aka Carlos Oreana Benitez, 48, a native and citizen of Honduras living in the United States illegally, was charged with illegal re-entry after having been convicted of an aggravated felony involving the trafficking of controlled substances. Arturo Leal-Calderone, 36, a native and citizen of Mexico also living in the United States illegally, was charged with illegal re-entry.

This first of its kind smart phone app was designed and developed by ICE Web Content Manager, under the supervision and direction of ICE Strategic Communication Director Cori W. Bassett.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Kimberly Rachael Moore, 31, of Tuckasegee, to serve under court supervision the rest of her life upon release from prison and to register as a sex offender.

Ming Zheng, aka Uncle Mi, 48, of New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to conspiracy to launder money. Judge Salas imposed the sentence Monday in Newark federal court.

Marcos Guillen-Guillen, and Johnny Martinez-Palacios, both 32, were charged in separate indictments with being in the country illegally. Both men formerly resided in Cumberland County.

Freddy David Santos Campuzano, 32, faces a maximum of 40 years' imprisonment, a fine of $750,000 and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced Sept. 10. Further, Campuzano is illegally in the United States and faces deportation following his prison sentence.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending May 30, 2014

Victor Duane Smith, 59, was sentenced by Judge Anthony W. Ishii, who also ordered the defendant to pay $5,000 to a child shown in five of the images he received. According to court documents, in July 2013, law enforcement began tracking an individual who was using the Fresno County Public Library's public wireless system to view child pornography through a file-sharing program. Investigators were able to watch Smith in the library while he used the program. Smith later confessed to the offense.

Michael Gallon, 49, must also serve a concurrent term of 20 years for distribution of child pornography.

In an effort to dramatically reduce the number of children falling prey to sexual predators online, HSI announced Friday a partnership with Clear Channel to generate awareness about online safety. The partnership comes at the end of the school year as young people will have more free time for social networking and other online activities.

Suresh Hiranandaney, Anita Chabria, Lalit Chabria and Samir Hiranandaney are charged with fabricating and manipulating documents in student financial aid files at MCI to hide MCI's widespread non-compliance with federal regulations.

In support of this Strategy, HSI Bangkok hosted the Advanced Wildlife Trafficking Investigations Training in Cha-am, Thailand, in April. HSI Bangkok was joined by HSI's Commercial Fraud Unit, FWS and Freeland, which is an NGO focusing on wildlife trafficking and human trafficking. During the 5-day training, instructors provided advanced investigation techniques to the participants through classroom lecture, practical demonstration and hands-on practice and application during real world scenarios. The focus of the training was the investigative steps leading to a controlled delivery. Fourteen Thai officers and six officers from Laos participated.

Cesar Lisandro Anaya, 27, was removed to El Salvador May 28 via government charter flight from Dallas and was turned over to officials from El Salvador's Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

In addition to his role in the direct sex trafficking of women by force, fraud, and coercion, Bonifacio Flores-Mendez, together with his brother Isaias Flores-Mendez, also owned and operated a sprawling network of brothels in and around New York City that sexually exploited at least five women per day, each of whom saw up to 20 customers per day. Many of the victims of this sex trafficking-prostitution enterprise were forced to engage in prostitution against their will under abhorrent conditions.

Jose Cruz Romero-Flores, 39, aka "Chato," Felix Rios-Martinez, 48, and Raul Romero-Castillo, 31, each pleaded guilty Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County to second-degree conspiracy to facilitate human trafficking for their roles operating the Lakewood brothels. The prosecution is seeking a five-year prison sentence in state prison for these defendants. Santos Lazaero Flores-Cruz, 59, of Union City, and Haliro Bueno, 22, of Lakewood, each pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting prostitution. The prosecution is seeking a three-year prison sentence in state prison for these defendants.

Damian Gasdaska was charged May 29 with one count of conspiracy, six counts of wire fraud, seven counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Xian Chen Chen, 37, was charged in a nine-count with trafficking in counterfeit goods. According to court documents, on November 13, 2013, Chen attempted to traffic goods containing counterfeit marks, including goods purported to be from Beats Electronics, LLC, Chanel Inc., Coach Services Inc., Gucci America Inc., Louis Vuitton Malletier, Michael Kors, LLC, The North Face Apparel Corp., Tiffany (NJ), LLC and Tory Burch, LLC.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending May 23, 2014

Dilshod Sidikov, aka Dema, 26, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Through CBFIT, HSI provides specialized training, technical assistance and best practices to foreign law enforcement personnel, border control personnel, intelligence and regulatory agencies, and judicial authorities on cross-border financial crimes. This HSI-led training and technical assistance covers the following various topics: money laundering, moving and smuggling bulk currency, money service businesses, informal value transfer systems (such as Hawalas), trade-based money laundering, cross-border fraud, investigative techniques, kleptocracy and asset forfeiture. This training includes practical exercises which enable participants to learn how TCOs and terrorist organizations collect, store, and move illicit proceeds.