News Releases and Statements

Company owner Daniel Lewis “Danny” Hendon, 64, of Paradise Valley, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Neil V. Wake to 12 months in prison followed by a year of home confinement. Hendon also agreed to divest himself of any future ownership, managerial or profit-sharing interest in the DFC organization.

Since 2010, Ford and HSI Detroit have collaborated on dozens of enforcement efforts that resulted in the seizures of websites selling counterfeit diagnostics equipment, charges against individuals selling counterfeit airbags and airbag components, seizures of faulty Engine Control Modules (ECMs), which act as the vehicle’s “black box,” and seizures of other sensitive automotive parts.

Randy Way Wesson, 28, from Hurst, Texas, made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton in federal court in Fort Worth Nov. 21.

Andres Tomas Gutierrez, 52, from Jarrell, Texas, was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered Nicholas W. Schofield, 26, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who has been on bond, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons Jan. 25.

Following are the 11 defendants charged in the indictment: Anthony Ramon Hall, 39; Ronnie Dean Haskins, 41; Aaron Clay King, 31; Matthew Brian Wagner, 32; Richard Allen Roberts, 30; Robert Allen Paul Bryan, 40; Rodney Lee Broomhall, 37; William Benton Williams, 41; Kristin Michelle Bright, 31; Carl Matthew Smith, 36; and Timothy Duane Buck, 23.

Jeffrey Wyatt Savell II, 35, is in custody. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography.

For decades, Daniel Barrera Barrera, 47, aka, Loco Barrera, a citizen of Colombia, manufactured and distributed hundreds of tons of cocaine and laundered tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds. Barrera worked with two Colombian terrorist organizations to traffic cocaine to various parts of the world, including the United States.

James Fudge, 47, of Temple, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. to 108 months in federal prison. Fudge must also serve five years of supervised release, and pay a $1,000 fine. On Sept. 18, Fudge pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and sharing child pornography with others via the Internet.

David Schell, 54, and Teri Schell, 59, both of Durham, Calif., are charged in the indictment with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

Jesse Antonio Garcia, 28, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He pleaded guilty in July 2014 to aiding and abetting unlawful production of identification document.

Kim Meas, 60, was the managing director of LS Services Corporation, an employee leasing company in Philadelphia. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, transporting illegal aliens, and failure to collect and pay federal income and employment taxes.

Milton Xavier Zometa, 28, was flown to El Salvador Nov. 19 onboard a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Upon arrival, Zometa was turned over to officials from the El Salvador’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

Those arrested include 12 Koreans, three Sri Lankans, two Vietnamese citizens, one Indonesian and one Thai national. The arrests were made in Seoul, Busan and Ulsan.

According to the terms of his plea agreement, Armando Conrad Gonzales, 33, will be sentenced to 100 months in federal prison and a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Guillermo Garcia, 55, a U.S. permanent resident from Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia-Marmolejo Nov. 18 to 120 months in federal prison.

These operations targeted enforcement in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and York areas from the last week in October through the first week in November. It is the latest effort by ERO Philadelphia to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration violators.

The pre-Columbian artifacts include three bowls and three goblets that are from the area near the Colombia-Ecuador border and are from between 800-1500AD. CBP officers in Miami seized the artifacts after they were identified during a routine air cargo inspection. The artifacts were later turned over to the HSI Bogota Attaché for repatriation.

IMAGE is a nationwide program that assists employers, strengthens hiring practices and curtails the employment of unauthorized workers through outreach, education and partnership.

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley is the fourth facility the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has used to increase its capacity to detain and expedite the removal of adults with children who illegally crossed the Southwest border.

Joseph Rajkumar, 44, formerly of Farmington, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 in Hartford federal court to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. The charge stems from Rajkumar's sexual relationship with a student while he was a teacher at Miss Porter's School in Farmington.

The field representatives serve as a key resource for schools on the SEVP certification and recertification processes, and they educate schools on the program's rules and regulations and federal laws governing international students studying in the United States.

Joshua Michael Riley, 32, of Henderson, received a 51-month prison term followed by three years’ supervised release; Nicholas Collado, 32, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years’ supervised release; and Alexandra Haardt, 28, also of Henderson, was sentenced to three years’ probation with a condition of one year of home confinement.

In keeping in compliance with the president’s orders, HSI, in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and MedStar Georgetown University created the HSI Special Agent Cadet Program in 2013.

Rafael Cardenas-Vela, aka Junior, aka Commandante 900, aka Rolex, was sentenced Nov. 17 by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to 240 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 in fines. A final order of forfeiture has also been entered for a $5 million money judgment and his interest in a real property on Bluewing Circle in Brownsville, which was purchased with drug proceeds.