News Releases and Statements

This indictment alleges the two owners of Century Roofing knowingly employed illegal aliens, using coercion, extortion and threats to control workers and force them to pay kickbacks. Their goal was to maximize their profits by cutting Century Roofing’s overhead costs and giving the company an unfair competitive advantage.

Consistent with ICE protocol, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and ICE Office of Professional Responsibility were notified of the death as were appropriate state health and local law enforcement agencies.

William Lee Niver, 48, appeared before U.S. District Judge Gray Miller June 14 and entered a plea of guilty to one count of producing child pornography, two counts of distributing child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography.

The lead defendant in the 35-count indictment is Jose Loza, who recently became a full-fledged member of the Mexican Mafia and is the “shotcaller” of the Canta Ranas gang. In addition to implementing D.G.’s orders, Loza allegedly executed another member of the Mexican Mafia who wanted to expand his influence and challenge D.G.’s authority over street gangs in the San Gabriel Valley. 

At the change-of-plea hearing, James Russell Wilson, 32, of Tulsa, admitted that, from October 2014 to December 2014, he knowingly received, and attempted to receive, visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Zachary E. Krueger, 33, of Emporia, Kansas, was sentenced following his guilty plea to one count of distributing child pornography.  He admitted that he distributed child pornography via the internet using an encrypted peer-to-peer network. 

David Alexander Battle II, 24, was charged by superseding indictment Feb. 11, and a federal jury convicted him of the charges March 10.

According to the indictment, Bradley J. Ames, 35, and a co-conspirator paid between $100 to $650 to the minor boys in return for being photographed and videotaped while engaged in various sexual acts, according to the indictment.

According to court documents, the 18th Street Gang is a multi-national gang that operates throughout the United States and Central America, and whose members in the Boston area have had significant access to firearms in Boston and Chelsea.

Juan Humberto Collazo Sanchez, 39, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the top of the Stanton International Bridge.

WestAir Gases & Equipment, a family-owned business formerly known as San Diego Welders Supply, is the 19th San Diego-area employer to become an IMAGE member. Most of the company’s over 200 employees work at offices in Southern California, including the firm’s headquarters in San Diego. The company also has offices in Texas and Arizona.

Rosa Linda Ganceres, 53, of Mathis, entered a guilty plea June 8 to sexual exploitation of a child, otherwise known as production child pornography.

Carlos Fernando Orellana-Pizarro, 45, who has a robbery conviction in Germany, was repatriated on board commercial flights under escort by Cleveland-based ERO officers. After arriving at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, ERO officers transferred Orellana-Pizarro to the custody of Chilean law enforcement.

While sports merchandise is a popular choice, intellectual property thieves will counterfeit any product that can be sold or marketed.  Among the most troubling trends is the burgeoning availability of counterfeit drugs, medical equipment, aircraft and automobile parts, computer hardware, military components, and electrical safety devices.

Jose Guadalupe Zepeda-Ramirez, 24, was convicted June 2 following a three-day trial of two felony counts – conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.

Manuel Geovanny Rodriguez-Perez, 43, aka “Shorty,” admitted to his role as a leader of the Rodriguez Enterprise, a violent organization whose members sold large quantities of marijuana, murdered and attempted to murder nearly 20 people, transported and laundered millions of dollars, obstructed justice and committed perjury, and engaged in firearms offenses. 

Saralyn Ann Proschko, 47, of Victoria, was charged along with her boyfriend – David Ray McGee, 48, of Wallis, Texas

The weeklong exercise, supported by HSI Santo Domingo and HSI San Juan, which also received financial support from the U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), focused on slow and methodical entries for situations such as barricaded subjects, making use of a wireless robotic device known as Scout Recon IR, donated to the DNP by Recon Robotics, Inc.

Aniel Martinez Reyes, 29, was taken into ICE custody April 29, after being released from the Bergen County Jail.  On June 26, 2015, Martinez Reyes was convicted of robbery and sentenced in the Superior Court of New Jersey to three years’ imprisonment.

The majority of the pieces repatriated in the ceremony were seized during Operation Hidden Idol, an investigation that began in 2007 after HSI special agents received a tip about a shipment of seven crates destined for the United States manifested as “marble garden table sets.”  Examination of the shipment in question revealed numerous antiquities.  This shipment was imported by Subhash Kapoor, owner of Art of the Past Gallery, who awaits trial in India.

Brian Farrell, 27, of Bellevue, was arrested in January 2015 for conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine following a probe by the Seattle-Tacoma Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST Seattle), which includes HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. 

Kounzong Saebphang, 26, of Laos, is charged with two felony criminal counts. He was arrested June 1 at the Wat Lao Buddhist Monastery in Riverside where he resided as a monk. The arrest came following the execution of a federal search warrant at that location.

Leticia Hernandez Garza, aka Letty Garza, 58, entered a guilty plea June 6. A federal grand jury indicted Garza March 23 for aiding and abetting an illegal gambling business in Falfurrias from on or about Jan. 1, 2009, to on or about May 31, 2015.