News Releases and Statements

Carlos Arnoldo Lobo, aka Negro, 39, allegedly owned and operated several dozen vessels off the eastern coast of Honduras which he outfitted to smuggle cocaine. The drugs were shipped from Colombia and Panama to Honduras, then into Guatemala and beyond, including Mexico and ultimately the United States. Lobo allegedly controlled drug shipments into and out of the eastern coast of Honduras.

Nichole Bires, 36, of McKeesport, the manager at H&H Fish market, a small local food store, pleaded guilty to exchanging customers' food stamp benefits for cash on a discounted basis, usually giving the customers only 50 cents on the dollar for food stamp benefits.

Bruce Schliemann, 50, of Virginia Beach, previously waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

Alexander Ortega, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle to 360 months in prison for each of the four counts of conviction, which are to be served concurrently. In handing down the sentence, Judge Tagle noted the amount of drugs involved and Ortega's role as leader of the conspiracy. Ortega will also be required to serve five years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Kevin D. Woolsey, 22, of Jenks, Oklahoma, was sentenced by U.S. Court Judge Claire V. Eagan to serve 84 months, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. On Sept. 19, 2013, Woolsey was charged by sealed Information with receiving child pornography; he pleaded guilty to the charge Nov. 5. Woolsey targeted boys between 14 to 16 years old who primarily participated in the Boy Scouts or who were members of a church youth group.

The painting, entitled "Composition abstraite [Abstract composition]" by Serge Poliakoff, once belonged to Brazilian banker Edemarcid Ferreira. He was the founder and former president of Banco Santos, and was convicted in Brazil of crimes against the national financial system and money laundering. In December 2006, Ferreira was sentenced in Brazil to 21 years in prison.

Rony Abimael Gonzalez-Herrera, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Jarvey to 57 months in federal prison. Gonzalez pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens.

Marcos Soto-Mendoza, 43, of Tonalisco, Nayarit, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson. Following the prison term, Soto-Mendoza will be subject to three years of supervised release. He was convicted by a federal jury April 12 on five counts of bringing in an illegal alien for profit.

The International Taskforce Agent Training class, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), provides vetted foreign law enforcement officers with training very similar to that of the agency's special agents. The students, including 12 Honduras National Police officers, 12 Panama National Police officers, two prosecutors from Honduras and one prosecutor from Panama, began their training April 22.

Kevin "Peter" Wang, 54, coordinated the illegal importation of 11 shipping containers of counterfeit apparel, according to court documents. From 2008 to 2012, the counterfeit goods were smuggled in shipping containers through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The containers, which were purposely mislabeled as toilet paper and garment hangers in order to evade detection by U.S. customs officials, included included fake Nike shoes; Coach, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton handbags; and NFL, NBA, and NHL jerseys.

According to the charges and other information presented in court, Dong Seok Yi was the president and CEO of an English language school named College Prep Academy (CPA). He also owns the Korean Times Atlanta, a newspaper company. In 2009, Yi filed an application with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), and obtained approval for CPA to enroll foreign-born students and issue I-20 forms, which enable students to stay in the United States. Foreign-born students who are issued I-20s from universities and other institutions of higher education can get F-1 student visas permitting them to remain in the United States during the time of their schooling.

James Enowitch, 48, of Cromwell, Conn., pleaded guilty to selling $5 million worth of fake degrees throughout the world from 2003 and 2012. He profited more than $700,000 from this fraudulent scheme.

Merlin Marilu Umanzor-Melendez, 27, departed San Antonio Tuesday onboard an ICE Air Operations Unit charter flight. Upon arrival in El Salvador, ERO officers turned her over to officials from the El Salvadoran Civilian National Police (PNC).

In an ongoing effort targeting every level of the dangerous global synthetic designer drug market, law enforcement in 29 states served nearly 200 search warrants culminating a nationwide enforcement operation on drug trafficking organizations operating throughout the country. The operation, which began in January, is called Project Synergy II.

Clayton L. Lakey, 34, of Billings, Montana, pleaded guilty to a charge of coercing and enticing a minor, and was sentenced May 7 to serve five years in federal prison.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), released "SEVIS by the Numbers," a quarterly report of international students studying in the United States, Wednesday. The report is based on data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information on international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.

Haoren Ma, 50, of San Gabriel, Calif., the owner of New Arrival Immigration Service, was sentenced April 28 to four-and-a-half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, immigration document fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ma's employee, Minghan Dong, 49, of San Gabriel, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day in prison for conspiracy to commit immigration document fraud.

Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, of Rockville, was also found guilty of illegal importing, receiving and delivering non-FDA approved drugs and devices, and engaging in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. In all, Sarraf was convicted of nine felonies and four associated misdemeanors. Eva Montejo Pritchard, 48, also of Rockville, who was the clinic office manager, was convicted of a single felony count for conspiracy.

Zdenko Jakiša, 45, of Forest Lake, Minn., was arrested Wednesday on immigration fraud charges for failing to disclose his military service and the multiple crimes he committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the armed conflict there in the 1990s.

At a May 7 ceremony in New York, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York were commemorated by the Kingdom of Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An and other representative from the Cambodian government for the return of the Duryodhana, a 10th century sandstone sculpture. Cambodian and U.S. officials were joined at the ceremony was by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and L'École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO).

Albert Rose, 55, of Lafayette, previously pleaded guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court. As part of his guilty plea, Rose admitted distributing images of child pornography via email using a computer located in his residence in February 2010.

Jason Thomas Dreyer, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to 60 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Gonzales Ramos also ordered Dreyer to follow these requirements:

Husband and wife owners of an online clothing business, Hoang Minh Nguyen and Dung Hang Dao, both 32, falsified import documents to avoid paying customs duties, according to court records. An investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Central California Financial Crimes Task Force uncovered the customs fraud and revealed a money laundering scheme.

These deportations were conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Chicago. Armando Ramirez-Vazquez, 32, and Jesus Gloria-Arreaga, 47, were removed to Mexico May 2 via government charter flight from Chicago and turned over to the custody of the Mexican Attorney General's Office. Ramirez-Vazquez is wanted in Mexico for homicide and robbery based on a warrant issued in the Mexican state of Michoacán in 2000.