News Releases and Statements

The operator of a local flea market, Jack Frison Sr., turned himself in to authorities Thursday after a federal grand jury indicted him on multiple charges relating to his alleged involvement in selling counterfeit goods.

Seven Los Angeles-area residents have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud for allegedly participating in an identity theft scheme that targeted hundreds of JP Morgan Chase and Co. account holders across the nation and caused more than $1 million in losses.

Eleven individuals from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area have been indicted in connection with operating a prostitution ring. Tony Ha is the owner of nine north Texas businesses located in Plano, Dallas and Hurst, which are identified as massage parlors but are alleged to actually operate as places of prostitution, or brothels.

In late November 2012, HSI special agents noticed an advertisement posted on an Internet message board and determined that it was posted by Billy Ray Doyle. During ensuing email conversations between Doyle and an undercover special agent who posed as a 15-year-old boy, Doyle discussed sexual activity.

Alan Clifton, of Halethorpe, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and 30 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett. Judge Bennett ordered that, upon his release from prison, Clifton must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee and where he is a student, under SORNA.

On more than one occasion, Jorge Mercado-Flores transported a 14-year-old female minor to engage in criminal sexual activity with her. He was arrested by HSI special agents Wednesday.

James Arthur Abney used cell phones to search the Internet for child pornography images. He saved images of child pornography on his cellphones and downloaded some images into his computer's hard drive.

Michael Gallanter and Ethan Oliver Wynne-Wade, who flew into Lubbock Aero airport on the evening of April 17, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 kilograms, but less than 100 kilograms, of marijuana.

Kelvin Cook, of Wilmington, was one of the leaders of an organization that recruited multiple drug couriers to travel to Panama in order to smuggle cocaine and heroin into the United States.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, seized $1.2 million worth of cocaine and $409,000 worth of heroin Monday at the ports of Fajardo and San Juan, respectively.

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Wednesday against Ignacio Garcia that charges one count each of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, transporting illegal aliens, and illegal re-entry after deportation.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents determined that an Internet Protocol address used to receive child pornography belonged to former teacher Theodore Nusbaum.

Kerin Hamim allegedly facilitated the employment of dozens of illegal temporary employees to a meat packaging business located in Scranton. It is alleged that Hamim knowingly provided transportation for the illegal workers and paid the illegal workforce in cash on a weekly basis.

After receipt of PRPD's referral, HSI special agents launched an investigation which revealed that Jose Donate-Mieles attempted to persuade an individual whom he believed to be a 13-14 year-old minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.

Four individuals were arrested Tuesday and charged with various counts of bank fraud, money laundering and wire fraud. The defendants engaged in a bank fraud scheme using straw buyers as loan applicants to obtain loans using false financial information and documentation.

Michael Little admitted to buying various pieces of generic glasswork and artwork over the Internet, then falsely claimed to buyers on eBay that they were authentic works by famed Northwest artist Dale Chihuly. Court records say Little grossed at least $40,000 through his scam that ran between 2011 and April 2013.

Van Haele had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

HSI and Caribbean Corridor Strike Force partners seized over 1,500 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $24 million and arrested three for drug trafficking earlier this week off the southern coast of Puerto Rico.

Milos Mihajlovic, a Serbian man wanted for being the alleged getaway driver in a murder and attempted murder investigation, was deported from the United States Monday.

Philippe Jeannard of La Rochelle, France, boarded a commercial airplane March 20 at Philadelphia International Airport. He possessed a fraudulent Air France identification card based on the identification of a former Air France employee and used that fraudulent identification card to gain access to the plane's cockpit.

Brandon Gillreath was sentenced to 35 years in prison. His wife Corine Motley, who was identified and arrested after ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched a campaign asking for the public's assistance, was sentenced to 29.5 years in prison.

Five individuals who possessed or distributed child pornography were charged and arrested during a month-long investigation in five Ocean County communities.

Ricardo Cantu Jr., 32, of Hidalgo, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa who sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Judge Hinojosa took into consideration that the defendant repeatedly changed his story, which resulted in the sentence ultimately imposed Monday.

From approximately March through November 2011, Lance Howard Mayes received and distributed more than 600 sexually explicit depictions of minors, many of which involved pre-pubescent victims and at least one of which involved sadomasochistic conduct.

James Brown, 50, pleaded guilty in March following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the FBI. Brown admitted possessing more than 600 images of child pornography on his laptop.