News Releases and Statements

A Sacramento immigration consultant, Sergey Potepalov, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges admitting he oversaw an elaborate scheme involving foreign nationals from Eastern Europe and Russia who paid up to five-figure fees to enter into sham marriages with locally recruited U.S. citizens.

Dante Christopher Vasquez was sentenced Thursday to more than 17 years in federal prison for taking nude photos of a young girl.

Cesar Alfredo Meza-Garcia, a top-level operative for a powerful Tijuana cartel, who allegedly ran a lucrative importation cell, was extradited from Mexico Thursday to face drug charges in the Southern District of California.

Twenty-eight individuals have been charged in a 97-count indictment after allegedly stealing $1.7 million from American trucking companies in a sophisticated money-wiring scheme. The indictment follows a two-year probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Larry James Allred is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to state charges stemming from a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Anaheim Police Department that revealed he illegally imported counterfeit collectible Disney pins from China and sold them over the Internet.

A Mexican citizen was sentenced Wednesday for traveling into the United States with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance from the Webb County Sheriff's Office.

Preston D. Wilbur was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). A forensic examination of numerous computers, hard drives and USB flash drives seized at Wilbur's residence revealed more than 300,000 images of child pornography.

Five Laredo residents pleaded guilty Wednesday to making false statements in connection with firearms purchases from local gun stores, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

Oscar Cuapio-Rodriguez was sentenced March 6 to three months in federal prison for illegal re-entering the United States after he was previously deported.

Seven members and their associates of the Texas Mexican Mafia (TMM) were arrested Tuesday based on a federal indictment charging them with racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) to include narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.

A federal grand jury handed down a superseding indictment Wednesday against three additional south Texas deputies and three other men on drug charges.

The owner of a Colorado car dealership and his two associates were arrested Tuesday by federal agents and local officers for structuring and money laundering.

Efren Ulises Cavaness-Morales, 25, of the 8900 block of Lawson Street, is charged with attempted coercion and enticement, and attempted transfer of obscene materials to minors.

Ernest Brian Tucker, 59, of Corrales, N.M., will also be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Rafael Lara-Mejia, a Dominican national, was sentenced March 5 for his role in a scheme to steal and sell the identities and corresponding identity documents of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens.

Walter Eugene Rogers, 33, of Watauga, Texas, has been in custody since he was arrested in Georgia by officers with the Tallapoosa Police Department on a related charge outlined in a criminal complaint.

Three local men are facing mandatory life imprisonment after a federal jury found them guilty Monday of racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and related crimes after a six-week trial in U.S. District Court.

A federal jury found two members of the Newburgh (N.Y.) Latin Kings, Wilson Pagan and Christian Sanchez, guilty of 29 counts including murder, racketeering, drug, firearms and witness tampering. The guilty verdicts are the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI's Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force.

Shawn E. Stevens, 26, of Corsica, S.D., was sentenced March 4 to 188 months in federal prison and five years supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Joseph Hicks, who was convicted of distributing child pornography, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison. HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at the Hicks' Rochester residence and seized his computer which contained nearly 15,000 images and more than 400 movies depicting child pornography.

Federal officials Monday announced the indictment of six defendants for their alleged role in a multi-state prostitution ring that recruited women from Asia to serve as sex workers and then required them to pay off as much as $60,000 in smuggling debts.

Walter Arthur Mosher Jr. was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography as the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Susan Lee Gross, the owner of an Annandale massage parlor used as a front for prostitution, was sentenced to 30 months in prison Friday.

A Bahamian man, Rohan Spicer, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to smuggle approximately $1.2 million to the Bahamas.