News Releases and Statements

Sadith Chavez-Perez, 23, was arrested in May 2013 in Ely, Nevada, while transporting a methamphetamine load to Idaho. In the vehicle officers found more than 1,300 grams of actual methamphetamine.

John Doe, aka Habteab Berhe Temanu, aka Habteab B Temanu, aka "TUFA," aka Kefelegn Alemu, aka Kefelegn Alemu Worku, about 62 years old, a Denver resident from Ethiopia, was sentenced May 23 by Senior U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to the lengthy prison term for unlawfully procuring citizenship, making false statements on immigration documents and identity theft.

A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment Thursday charging former Illinois State Rep. Keith Farnham with possessing, receiving and transporting child pornography. Farnham was initially charged with one count of possessing child pornography in a criminal complaint filed last month in U.S. District Court.

The defendants include four Los Angeles County residents – Philip Tolentino Sarmiento, Laurence Viernes, German Zagada and Jude Dagza Leoncio; two individuals from Kern County – Juan Malaluan Tenorio, Jr. and Glyn Cordova Villegas; and an Orange County man, James Quijano Leoncio. All of the defendants applied for licenses to practice as registered nurses in California using false and forged nursing school transcripts from the Philippines. They now face up to three years in prison.

According to court documents, Fadi Bazzi, 49, made false statements on his naturalization application to become a U.S. citizen. During his application for citizenship, Bazzi, withheld information that he had previously been convicted of theft in his native country. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment for the theft conviction.

Adrian Tino Guerrero, 28, of Slaton, Texas, pleaded guilty in February to one count of receiving child pornography and has been in custody since his arrest in November 2013 on a related charge.

Sergey Potepalov, 58, of Citrus Heights, was the last of the nine defendants to be sentenced on charges resulting from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The penalty was imposed by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

In addition to the seized goods, 42 individuals were arrested and 13 vehicles were seized within the Don Flea Market and the Lawrence Flea Market & Auction House. The operation was a culmination of a federal investigation by HSI special agents, in coordination with the Lawrence Police Department.

Mark Stein, 48, was sentenced to four months in prison, a $10,000 fine and three years of supervised release for five counts of wire fraud in connection with fraud on the unemployment compensation fund. Stein is the CEO of Land Tech Enterprises, a landscaping company in Bucks County.

Steven Sadler, 40, of Bellevue, now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison because of the volume of drugs he sold. According to the plea agreement, Sadler admitted he began selling drugs on the Silk Road website in 2012 under the screen name "NOD." The site was well-known by criminals as a source for multiple types of contraband. He took his orders online and shipped his illicit products through the U.S. mail. According to investigators, Sadler was one of the top-ranked sellers on the site.

Jaime Martinez-Elvir, 32, of Indianapolis, was charged May 22 with carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The training included HSI’s efforts to combat human trafficking and investigative techniques, as well as indicators of human trafficking and victim identification and assistance. Information was also presented regarding investigations of child exploitation and intellectual property rights violations.

HSI shared case studies from some of the most involved trafficking investigations conducted in the United States, highlighting the complexities and unique nature of trafficking cases. The group stressed the importance of adopting a victim-centered approach for a successful investigation and ultimate conviction in court.

Daniel Joseph Dalton, 38, pleaded guilty in January to possessing sexually explicit images of minors. He was reported to police by a computer technician who discovered more than 300 videos of suspected child pornography on Dalton's computer, which he had dropped off at a local computer repair shop.

Mark Anthony Pape, 23, has been in federal custody since his arrest last month in San Marcos, Texas, on a related charge outlined in a federal criminal complaint.

The operation was launched by the Online Child Pornography and Hatred Crimes Unit and is part of a series of actions taken to prevent online child pornography and child sex exploitation in Brazil. According to Brazilian authorities, at least six individuals were arrested for the possession of child pornography and 100 individuals were arrested for suspicion of child pornography during the last three operations launched by the DPF. From January 2013 to May 2014, DPF opened 1,441 cases investigating child pornography in Brazil.

A federal grand jury indicted Keith A. Arrick Sr., 46, of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, and his son, Keith A. Arrick Jr., 21, of Columbus, charging them with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

Anthony Juarez, 31, of Nampa, received 76 months in prison and his co-conspirator Jose Juarez, 33, of Rupert, was sentenced to 72 months in prison. According to the plea agreements, on July 24, 2013, Anthony Juarez agreed to meet with an undercover officer in Burley, where it was agreed methamphetamine would be sold to the officer.

Robert Dale Schrader, 33, of Littlerock, California, pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for Aug. 18. At sentencing, Schrader faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, and he could be ordered to serve up to 30 years in custody.

Joshua David Bellah, 40, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of child pornography.

Rafael Cruz, 25, and Roberto Cruz, 27, both of Mission, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez who handed down the brothers' sentence. Rafael Cruz was sentenced to 480 months. The sentence was enhanced as the court took into consideration that he had sexually assaulted smuggled females on a number of occasions. Judge Alvarez then sentenced Roberto Cruz to 360 months in prison for his role in the hostage-taking conspiracy. After they serve their sentences, they will each have to serve a five-year-term of supervised release.

As part of Operation Caireen, which began April 4 and ran until May 15, HSI special agents, New York City Police Department detectives and other law enforcement partners surreptitiously infiltrated peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks to identify users in the New York City metropolitan area who sought to acquire or distribute known or suspected images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit activities.

Nikolaos Frangos, 38, and George Capuzello, 42, both of Campbell, Ohio; and Mikhail Zubialevich, aka "Russian Mike," 41, of Princeton, New Jersey, were charged with conspiring to falsify, conceal and cover up a material fact in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Transportation, witness tampering, and harboring an alien.

Richard Gundersen, 47, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud and identity theft. Lamar Taylor, 38, of Salem, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud and identity theft. Both defendants entered their guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court.

Jared Tyler Allen, 28, of Fargo, was sentenced to 114 months for receiving and possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of minors. This case came to the attention of law enforcement after officers working on the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered evidence indicating a computer in North Dakota was sharing child pornography via a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.