News Releases and Statements

Jose Alfredo Fernandez-Martinez, 38, of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, was sentenced Dec. 8 in federal court to 360 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.

According to court documents, Patrice Wilowski-Mevorah, 53, laundered at least $2.3 million for the Newstar Enterprise, an Internet-based business aimed at for-profit sexual exploitation of vulnerable children under the guise of child modeling.

Zachary Ronzell Mitchell, 30, of Fargo, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, to 72 months in federal prison on a federal charge of interfering with commerce by threats and violence, more commonly known as a Hobbs Act robbery. Chief Judge Welte also sentenced Mitchell to three years supervised release and a $100 Special Assessment.

The owner of a garment wholesaling company in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison for scheming to undervalue imported garments and avoid paying millions of dollars in duties to the United States, failing to report millions of dollars in income on tax returns, and failing to report large cash transactions to the federal government.

On Dec. 2, as part of Operation Blood Ties and with support from U.S. law enforcement, Brazilian authorities executed 21 search warrants and eight arrests in the states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Mauricio Robles, 26, of Phoenix, Arizona, was indicted in federal court Oct. 21. The court previously sentenced Robles’ co-defendant, Arlando Torres, 36, of Texas, to 70 months in prison on Sept. 30.

Luis Enrique De La Cerda, 55, of El Indio plead guilty to transporting dozens of noncitizens before a federal judge.

William Read, 71, of Del Rio, was sentenced to 120 months to be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $105,051 in restitution. Read pleaded guilty Aug. 26, 2019, to one count of possession of child pornography.

The operation led to the arrest of 12 suspects this year, the seizure of nearly $3 million worth of counterfeit goods ahead of Cyber Monday, and the opening of 48 criminal cases.

According to court documents, in 2017 and 2019, Shaun Douglas Dickson, 26, of Louisville, Kentucky, engaged in conversations with children on the Internet while posing as both an 11-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy. During these conversations, Dickson sent images of child pornography to children he met online, including young girls in Greece and Australia that he attempted to and successfully induced and coerced into creating images of sexually explicit conduct to send to him.

After previously pleading guilty, Garrett Endicott, 22, of Warrensburg Missouri, was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison and pay restitution in the amount of $121,549.37. He was the final defendant to be sentenced in this case, which was indicted in 2019.

To align worksite investigation with ICE’s victim-centered approach to investigations, HSI has shifted to its posture to a new model focused on unscrupulous employers who exploit noncitizens, based on their lack of lawful immigration status, through dangerous work conditions, underpayment, and using those noncitizens as a “business model” to maximize profits.

Jordan Charles Opdahl, 29, was indicted Nov. 9. He pleaded not guilty Nov. 24 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy.

Last month, several law enforcement agencies to include ICE HSI participated in a child sex operation known as “Deja Boo” netting 30 suspects.

The holiday shopping toolkit includes online shopping do’s and don’ts, ways to protect financial and banking information, educational videos and infographics, and general information on how to spot fake merchandise.  

According to court documents, from Jan. 30, 2020 to March 26, 2020, Alexis Catalan, 41, sold a total of 391.9 grams of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. Additionally, she possessed 271.8 grams of methamphetamine.

Ashton Aman, 37, of Sioux Falls, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier to 10 years in federal prison, for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Aman was previously indicted on the charge by a federal grand jury Feb. 2. He was arrested by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Feb. 4 and later pleaded guilty July 12.

Omot Musa Karlo, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury Nov. 9. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy Nov. 22 to enter his not guilty plea.

Among the repatriated artifacts were six large funerary urns (circa 900-1700 A.D.); a comb-impressed red slip double cup vessel (circa 800-1500 A.D.); a high-necked polychrome pot (circa 1100-1400 A.D.); and 913 ground and flax stones and axe heads from the Neolithic Period.   

Quanwei Shi, 31, was sentenced for conspiracy to harbor undocumented residents; harboring undocumented residents; money laundering; tax evasion; and employment tax fraud. Shi and restaurant co-owner Chongqiang Chen, 30, also of Clarksville, were both arrested in April 2020, after a 14-count federal indictment charged them in a scheme to harbor undocumented workers and to defeat the tax laws of the United States. Shi pleaded guilty in March.

A federal indictment alleges Carlos Martin Quintana-Arias, 37, a citizen of Mexico, applied for entry into the U.S. with a manifest that identified the contents of his 1996 Stoug trailer as automotive body parts.

Stephen Shipps, 68, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a former violin professor and Director of the Strings Preparatory Program at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance pled guilty to one count of transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual relations.

Amalia Gonzalez-Lara, 43, of Phoenix, admitted that she conspired to transport and harbor over 100 illegal aliens for profit during a proceeding before the U.S. Magistrate Judge.

As the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles and IRS Criminal Investigation, Hugo Sergio Mejia, 50, of Ontario, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Mejia pleaded guilty on July 1 to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of money laundering.

The tool allows noncitizens to schedule their required check-in appointments at ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) offices as they await immigration proceedings.