News Releases and Statements

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forged important partnerships during a recent training course the agency's Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) Office of International Affairs (OIA) hosted for a delegation of law enforcement partners from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The head of a local staffing business was sentenced on Tuesday to 41 months in federal prison in connection with an H-2B visa fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Pittman, Western District of Texas.

Additional charges have been filed against Edward John Maher, a fugitive from England who was arrested in Ozark, Mo., and indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally possessing firearms, document fraud and identity theft. The charges resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Ozark Police Department...

ICE's HSI special agents, working jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officers, seized 35 kilograms of cocaine Monday at the Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport in St. Croix and arrested two individuals for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Two local brothers, Juan C. Ramirez-Fuentes and Jaimie Ramirez-Fuentes, were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences on drug trafficking and firearms charges. The sentences resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), DEA, and the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

The owner and three managers of three local restaurants are facing federal charges related to the conspiracy to knowingly employ illegal aliens and to harbor them from authorities following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Lewis Gaudinier, a 47-year-old Madera man, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receipt of child pornography following a multi-agency probe involving ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). At least 1,000 image files of child pornography were found on Gaudinier's computer, depicting children 3 to 14 years of age.

The San Juan-based, multi-agency Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) seized 109 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $2.4 million, Thursday during an inspection of incoming containers on board a motor vessel arriving from the Dominican Republic.

Eight artifacts that were illegally exported from Guatemala in two separate incidents were officially returned to the country at a repatriation ceremony Friday at the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington.

"ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents arrested El Paso County Precinct 3 Commissioner Guillermo ""Willie"" Gandara Jr on Feb. 22 and his associate Juan Canales on Feb. 23. Both are charged with federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges. "

Kenneth Houck of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced Thursday to 97 months in prison for transportation of child pornography in a case investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). A forensic analysis of his computer found almost 6,470 still images of child pornography.

Scott L. McQuirns of North Wales, Pa., was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for possession of child pornography. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). HSI's forensic examiner determined that there were at least 300 videos and about 40,000 images of child pornography on Mr. McQuirns' computer.

Jose Francisco Paula-Rivera, a citizen and national of the Dominican Republic wanted by the Dominican National Police for raping a minor child, was removed Tuesday from the United States by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and turned over to the country's law enforcement authorities.

Gary Wayne Vitovsky, 53, of Ennis, Texas, was sentenced on Thursday to 160 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release following his guilty plea on child pornography charges.

Across the country, flea markets have become notorious hot spots for selling counterfeit goods. That was the case Feb. 13, when HSI special agents identified vendors peddling counterfeit purses, shoes and jewelry items at a flea market just outside Tampa, Fla.

A citizen of Honduras, German Alfredo Peralta-Rivera, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison for illegal re-entry, following an investigation by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

A San Diego-area private country club with more than 70 employees is partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to strengthen its hiring practices, reduce fraud and ensure it hires a legal workforce.

A man and a woman from Leavenworth, Kan., were charged Thursday with trafficking drugs near an elementary school.

"Orlando Garcia, the last gang member who was part of a local drug trafficking conspiracy involving gang leadership inside and outside of the Texas prison system, was convicted by a federal jury Wednesday. This conviction resulted from an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) dubbed ""Operation Prison Cell."""

Neil Felahy, the operations manager for California-based MVP Micro was sentenced to 20 months in prison Wednesday for conspiring to sell counterfeit integrated circuits to the U.S. military, defense contractors and others. The investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

Benito Delgado Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison for receiving and producing child pornography. ICE HSI forensic examiners found Delgado had 549 videos depicting young children in sexually explicit conduct in his possession, and also found that Delgado had taken pictures of a 6-year-old girl revealing her genitalia.

Three owners of an Atlanta meat supply business, Rhett Maughon, Rafael Villarreal, Sr., and Marcus Maughon, have been sentenced to serve time in federal prison following a joint investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Detachment 228 awarded a rare honor to a local special-needs man Marcus Cox on Wednesday.

An El Salvadoran gang member, Felix Noel Arevalo-Cantarero of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced to more than four years in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported following an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).