News Releases and Statements

Mark Marmilev, 35, of Brooklyn, was principally responsible for designing and maintaining the technological infrastructure for Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world's most widely used digital currency services. Marmilev was arrested in Brooklyn in May 2013.

"This case is a testament to the great work of HSI, and clearly shows that the Department of Homeland Security will follow the trail of criminal proceeds wherever it leads, whether it's around the block or around the world," said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. "With the help of our Taiwanese law enforcement partners, these seizures not only deny criminals their profits, they also disrupt their ability to further fund their criminal activity."

Authorities arrested nine defendants and seized what is estimated to be at least $65 million in cash and bank deposits stemming from asset forfeiture actions filed as part of the ongoing investigations.

Robert Bandfield, 70, a U.S. citizen; Andrew Godfrey, 51, citizen of Belize; Kelvin Leach, 34, and Rohn Knowles, 29, citizens of the Bahamas, Brian D Wit, 45, and Cem Can, 44, citizens of Canada; and six corporate defendants: IPC Management Services, LLC; IPC Corporate Services Inc.; IPC Corporate Services LLC (collectively, IPC Corp); Titan International Securities, Inc. (Titan); Legacy Global Markets S.A. (Legacy); and Unicorn International Securities LLC (Unicorn), allegedly coordinated a $500 million offshore asset protection, securities fraud and money laundering scheme.

A seizure warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was unsealed Wednesday, announcing the seizure of approximately $500,000 in assets traceable to corruption proceeds accumulated by Chun Doo Hwan, the former president of the Republic of Korea. This seizure brings the total value of seized corruption proceeds of President Chun to more than $1.2 million.

Makyl Haggerty, aka “Wave” and “G5,” 24, of Oakland, California, admitted in his plea agreement that in December 2009 he became associated with the Carder.su organization.

Tempest Amerson, 24, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Rosland Starks, 45, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

HSI uses its financial investigations to beat criminals at their trade. By following money trails, HSI can identify and dismantle international criminal networks – ultimately seizing their proceeds and related assets.

"Greed is a prime motivator that drives transnational crimes," said Nathan Emery, HSI resident agent in charge who administrates the HSI Columbus BCSTF. "Our task force is working every day to dry up the criminals' cash supply and cut off pipelines that support criminal activity."

Antonio Govea Figueroa, 43, of Nederland, Texas, pleaded guilty Aug. 13 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith F. Giblin after being charged with wire fraud.

Olayinka Ilumsa Sunmola, 31, of Lagos, Nigeria, was arrested Aug. 9 in connection with a recently unsealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Illinois. Sunmola was arrested by London Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport as he was about to board a British Airways flight bound for Johannesburg, South Africa, where he currently resides and conducts his activities.

Raymundo Silva, 35, was indicted in August 2013 on conspiracy, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. His two co-defendants were also indicted at the same time: Christina Knight, 29, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Patricia Diaz, 35, of Los Lunas, N.M.

Monica Mason, 49, of Lilburn, Georgia was involved in the scam along with her coconspirator, Shawn Foote, who knowingly prepared and addressed fraudulent mail containing counterfeit instruments to victims, who believed they were acting as mystery shoppers.

Kwan Yong Choi, 72, of Fresno, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. In addition to the prison term, Choi was also ordered to pay $2.1 million in restitution to 13 victims of his investment fraud scheme here in the U.S.

Randy Dale Barber, 42, of Tampa, was also ordered to forfeit $413,106, and to pay restitution to Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) in the amount of $37,921.20. He previously pleaded guilty Feb. 28.

Jose A. Padilla, of Weslaco, a former deputy commander with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, who served under the leadership of Trevino, pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe, in a separate, but related case. Nine others, including drug trafficker Tomas Reyes Gonzalez, aka "El Gallo," were convicted in relation to the underlying narcotics/money laundering conspiracy. They will all be sentenced Sept. 18 by U.S District Judge Randy Crane.

Pedro "Pete" Benevides, 44, of Astatula, also agreed to forfeit $44,059,565, including several bank accounts holding approximately $40 million in cash, and three exotic sports cars: a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago; a 2009 Audi R8; and a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo. Benevides also agreed to pay full restitution to the financial institutions that were the victims of his offense.

Rafael Sanchez, 50, formerly of Hazleton, was arrested in January. According to court documents, from 2011 to 2014, Sanchez used the identities of unknowing third parties to prepare and file fraudulent federal income tax returns.

The group of financial and cybercrime investigators, as well as prosecutors, discussed ongoing worldwide criminal cases, involving the criminal use of virtual currencies to purchase, among other items, narcotics and contraband online. Participants at this first-ever international meeting of law enforcement on the criminal exploitation of virtual currencies voiced concerns over the anonymity of financial transactions through some virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, and the challenges this poses to "following the money" during criminal investigations.

Mokorya Cosmas Wambura was sentenced June 16 by Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow who also ordered Wambura to pay restitution of more than $400,000.

Elijah Meskano pleaded guilty in May 2013 to a superseding information charging conspiracy to steal public funds. Following the June 12 hearing, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle remanded him into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Dilshod Sidikov, aka Dema, 26, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Twenty individuals, including 11 in South Africa, were arrested Tuesday on charges stemming from cyber, mass-marketing fraud schemes. The arrests were made during a joint operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), South African Police Service's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), South Africa's Crime Intelligence, Interpol, the South Africa Tactical Response Team and the South Africa Department of Home Affairs – Immigration.

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.