News Releases and Statements

Agustin Rodriguez-Rodriguez was sentenced Friday to 90 years in prison for possession and production of child pornography. The investigation that led to this sentence was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Yimmy Pineda-Penado, aka Critico, 22, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga today to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a gang-run juvenile prostitution ring.

Over the last three days, federal authorities at a Los Angeles International Airport express cargo consignment facility interdicted more than a hundred shipments containing suspected counterfeit goods in stepped-up enforcement actions as part of Operation Holiday Hoax.

Michael Ferguson, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May and pleaded guilty in September. According to court documents, Ferguson admitted he was in possession of 10 images and two videos of child sexual exploitation when HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his residence.

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 18 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested this week during a five day operation in Missouri.

Over the last three days, federal authorities at a Bay Area mail processing facility interdicted more than 300 parcels containing suspected counterfeit goods in stepped-up enforcement actions as part of Operation Holiday Hoax, an international effort targeting the sale and importation of counterfeit and pirated products.

Johnny Soza of Stafford, Va., was sentenced to 120 months in prison for enticing a 15-year-old girl in Canada to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

Nicolette Loisel was sentenced Friday to 12 months and one day in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud by stealing the identities of dormant, publicly-traded companies. This case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa and the U.S. Secret Service's Tampa and Newark, N.J., field offices.

Two complaints were filed Thursday charging two Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) deputies and two Mission Police Department (MPD) officers with a drug trafficking conspiracy.

A federal grand jury Wednesday returned a guilty verdict against a local resident on cocaine trafficking and immigration charges after a two day trial. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, man, Jose David Rivera-Torres, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison for possession of several hundred images of child pornography, some of which contained bestiality and bondage of minors.

Seven local government employees - six in Kansas City, Mo., and one in Jackson County, Mo. - were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in a scheme in which hundreds of public employees allegedly defrauded their health insurance provider.

A Korean national residing in the Los Angeles area, who was wanted in his native country for large-scale financial fraud, was turned over to South Korean law enforcement representatives at the airport in Seoul Thursday by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Ismael Vazquez-Larrauri, 39, of Cayey, Puerto Rico, was found guilty June 15 of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana within public housing projects and schools.

Representatives from the 18 Virtual Global Taskforce member agencies attend discussions on the strategic direction for the VGT at the VGT Conference in Abu Dhabi. HSI's Ian Quinn is the newly appointed chair of the VGT.

A federal grand jury issued a multi-count indictment against a Romanian man as part of an Internet fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The indictment charges a Romanian man - who is residing in Orangevale, Calif., while visiting on a visa - with seven counts of wire fraud.

Jose Hernandez-Velazquez, 54, of Van Nuys, was found guilty following a two-day trial. The charges are the result of a joint investigation initiated in March 2011 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Los Angeles and Delano police departments.

Special agents with ICE's HSI, working jointly with officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, seized more than $2 million in counterfeit merchandise during a two-day operation dubbed Forged Dreams.

Three Mexican men face federal charges following their arrest Friday at a West Valley drop house discovered by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). HSI special agents were first alerted to the drop house Dec. 5 after a woman contacted HSI Atlanta to report that a man was demanding she pay him $4,000 or he would kill her niece.

A 43-year-old Colombian national who was extradited last December to face U.S. charges was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing money meant to fund meals for under-privileged children.

Timothy Arthur Steinbarth, 50, pleaded guilty May 16 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced Dec. 10 to 46 months in federal prison.

An employee at a contracted state license office, Thomas Richard McNamara III, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiracy to unlawfully assist more than 100 illegal aliens obtain fraudulent Missouri driver's licenses.

HSBC Holdings plc, a United Kingdom corporation headquartered in London; and HSBC Bank USA N.A. (together, HSBC), a federally chartered banking corporation headquartered in McLean, Va., have agreed to forfeit $1.26 billion and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department for HSBC's violations...

Miguel A. Sanchez-Palomares, a previously deported Mexican national, pleaded guilty Monday to making, possessing and selling fraudulent immigration documents, following an undercover probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

It began with a routine traffic stop in Tampa, Fla. On Feb. 4, just after 5 p.m., Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies pulled over 21-year-old Kathleen Roberson. Not only did she not have a valid driver's license, but she was also transporting five illegal aliens in her Kia Sorrento.