News Releases and Statements

Twenty individuals, including 11 in South Africa, were arrested Tuesday on charges stemming from cyber, mass-marketing fraud schemes. The arrests were made during a joint operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), South African Police Service's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), South Africa's Crime Intelligence, Interpol, the South Africa Tactical Response Team and the South Africa Department of Home Affairs – Immigration.

Gregory Bogomol, 38, of Fort Worth, was arrested May 15 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas announced this arrest.

Terry Howell, 57, most recently of Baypoint, Calif., pleaded guilty Feb. 10, to distributing child pornography to a person in another state using his email account.

When international students and visitors travel to the United States, they receive a Form I-94, "Arrival/Departure Record," at their port of entry. The Form I-94 serves as evidence that they have been lawfully admitted to the United States. International students and visitors need this record to verify alien registration and immigration status and obtain employment authorization. New this month, these individuals can access their five year travel history on the Form I-94 website.

According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement received information from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center identifying an offender in the Dallas area. The investigation led law enforcement to secure and execute a search warrant at the residence of Donald Record, 52, of Dallas, on March 6.

Nasif Baqla, 26, of Houston, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to introducing misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce, and to importing such goods contrary to U.S. law.

Jesus Manuel Rivera-Villareal, aka "Chuy," 33, was sentenced May 12 on charges stemming from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego. Rivera-Villareal pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to import methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin into the U.S. from Mexico. He was originally arrested in San Bernardino in September 2013 on a federal warrant charging him in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

Baraka Z. Chauka, aka Rock, 37, of Barclay was arrested May 19 and indicted on charges including conspiring to import cocaine into the state, conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to distribute cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. He is currently being held on $100,000 bond. Carlos J. Cain, aka Cain, 40, of Centreville, was arrested May 8 and indicted with conspiring to import cocaine into the state, conspiring to possess cocaine, and conspiring to distribute cocaine. He is currently being held on $100,000 bond.

Jose Antonio Hernandez, 41, and Genaro Vela-Rodriguez, 28, pleaded guilty Monday before Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to one count each of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Patrick R. Delahunty are prosecuting the case.

According to the indictment, during March 2014, Kervin Ruiz-Colon, 54, attempted to transfer sexually explicit photographs to a minor whom he believed to be 13-years-old. Ruiz-Colon had his initial hearing Monday before U.S. Magistrate Sylvia Carreño Coll, who scheduled his preliminary hearing for May 28. He was ordered held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo.

Fifteen military veterans who successfully completed a one-year intensive computer forensics training program with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have all been offered permanent positions with the agency to continue working in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.

John David Boyle, 52, of Glendora, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson. At Monday's hearing, Judge Wilson said Boyle's crimes were "horrendous" and that "the damage done to the victims is incalculable."

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending May 16, 2014

Operation Dirty Glass is a multi-agency investigation into a large-scale PCP and crack cocaine drug-trafficking organization in Kansas City which has so far resulted in 10 indictments that charged 20 defendants in separate but related cases. PCP is an illegal hallucinogenic drug. Damond S. Hill, also known as "Day Day," 35, of Kansas City, was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison without parole.

Maualuga Leaana, 43, was charged in an April federal grand jury indictment, which alleges she applied for and obtained a U.S. passport in the name of her sister. She is also charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on various applications for benefits, including Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends, unemployment compensation, subsidized housing, as well as obtaining identification from the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles.

Isaias Flores-Mendez, 42, was also ordered to forfeit approximately $1.7 million, and to pay $84,000 in restitution to a victim of his crime. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest.

The two companies, Dana Kay Inc., and Siouni & Zar Corporation, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to avoid the payment of customs duties by presenting the government with invoices that significantly understated the value of the imported apparel from approximately 2003 through 2012. The defendants paid their overseas manufacturers the full value of the apparel, but deducted a flat fee per garment set before calculating the duty on the apparel. The defendants then recorded only the lower value on the entry forms presented to the government. Through this fraud, the defendants avoided paying millions of dollars in customs duties.

Jesse Yang, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced Yang to 10 years of supervised release.

Samuel Granados-Hernandez, 33, of Mexico, is the sixth member of the Granados family to be prosecuted and convicted in the United States in connection to the HSI New York sex trafficking investigation.

Operation Broken Bone was a multi-agency investigation into a drug trafficking organization that operated from January 2006 to November 2011 to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Maria Anay Castaneda-Aleman, 32, and Emmanuel Navarro Gallegos, aka "Armando Roberto Espino," 30, were indicted May 14 on charges of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Castaneda-Aleman was also charged with making available for use a house in San Jose for the purpose of manufacturing, storing and distributing methamphetamine.

Kyoni Humphrey aka Kyoni Nieves, 24, admitted that she helped a co-defendant commit the crime by renting and driving a vehicle used to transport the female to motels in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to engage in prostitution, renting motel rooms and posting "escort" advertisements and photographs on the backpage.com website during May and June of 2013. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in January.

Oscar J. Aguilar, 37, entered his plea May 16 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan. He will remain in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which is set for Aug. 18 before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen. At that time, Aguilar faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Wai Chiu "Tony" Ng, 57, was escorted by ERO officers on a multi-segment commercial flight that left Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday morning and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport Wednesday night (local time). Ng had been held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma since his parole from Washington state prison in December.

Brian Bethman, 38, of Lafayette Hill, is charged with smuggling in more than 6,000 audiovisual copies of movies and television shows that were protected by copyright between April 2010 and April 2011.