News Releases and Statements

The two companies, Dana Kay Inc., and Siouni & Zar Corporation, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to avoid the payment of customs duties by presenting the government with invoices that significantly understated the value of the imported apparel from approximately 2003 through 2012. The defendants paid their overseas manufacturers the full value of the apparel, but deducted a flat fee per garment set before calculating the duty on the apparel. The defendants then recorded only the lower value on the entry forms presented to the government. Through this fraud, the defendants avoided paying millions of dollars in customs duties.

Oscar J. Aguilar, 37, entered his plea May 16 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan. He will remain in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which is set for Aug. 18 before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen. At that time, Aguilar faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The money was seized in February 2014 from the sale of a house located in Newport Beach, Calif., which President Chun's son, Chun Jae Yong, had purchased in 2005 with proceeds allegedly traceable to his father's corruption.

Nsane Phanuel Ligate, 42, of Ashburn, Va., a real estate agent, and Cane Mwihava, 43, of Bowie, Md., pleaded guilty to providing false information about the properties' buyer and renovations.

Son Pham, 45, admitted he loaned money to people in his community and then used threats of violence to try to collect the debts.

In the indictment returned by a federal grand jury April 1, Nancy Madelen Peebles, 73, and her daughter Lisa Kaye Barwick-Majeski, 53, both of St. Robert, Mo., were charged with aiding and abetting others to transfer more than $1 million in counterfeit obligations (postal money orders).

A 57-year-old Philadelphia man, Dave Brister, pleaded guilty March 24 to all counts stemming from a counterfeit check scheme that victimized dozens of people across the United States through a series of Internet-based sales scams.

Three alleged members of an international cybercrime, money laundering and identity theft conspiracy were indicted on federal charges Monday for using information hacked from customer accounts at more than a dozen banks, brokerage firms, payroll processing companies and government agencies in an attempt to steal at least $15 million from Americans.

Travis J. Russ, 32, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was sentenced Tuesday for his leadership role in a car break-in and bank fraud crew that stole more than a million dollars in the five years it was in operation.

'HSI is proud to recognize the key role that the Trenton Police played in bringing this case to a successful resolution,' said Special Agent in Charge Marlon Miller. 'These funds will allow the Trenton Police Department to continue the excellent work they do in the community.'

An indictment was unsealed Monday charging four individuals with multiple counts of conspiracy, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and mail and wire fraud.

Of the 110 arrests, there were 84 in Spain, 20 in the UK, two in the United States and four in Serbia with the majority of people arrested on suspicion of money laundering and fraud offences.

Approximately 160 stolen cars worth more than $8 million were recovered during 'Operation Jacked,' a 10-month joint HSI investigation led by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police, along with the Port Authority of New York, the New Jersey Police and 12 other agencies.

Cephas Msipa, who resided in Plano, Texas, pleaded guilty to a one-count superseding Information in August 2013 charging one count of conspiracy. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on an indictment in November 2012.

Twenty individuals, including ringleaders, straw buyers, sellers, real estate agents and an accountant were arrested Tuesday in 10 different municipalities of Puerto Rico for bank fraud and money laundering.

Ioan Leusca, 30, aka Ionel Spinu, and Dezso Gyapias, 29, aka Valentin Folea, were each sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini. In addition to prison time, both men were ordered to serve two years supervised release and to pay $985,000 in restitution.

Kwan Yong Choi, 73, who pleaded guilty Feb. 10, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced April 21.

Hector Javier Villarreal, the former Secretary of Finance for the Mexican State of Coahuila, Mexico, appeared before a U.S. District Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad Feb. 13 to face formal charges of money laundering.

A San Jose couple who operated an online clothing business pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government out of customs duties.

Jae Hee Yang, 58, formerly known as Jae Hee Yang Kim, must also forfeit $100,000 and perform 150 hours of community service.

Petr Murmylyuk, a Russian national living in New York, was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison for conspiring with others to hack into retail brokerage accounts and execute sham trades, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Murmylyuk was also ordered pay more than $505,000 in restitution.

Christopher Blackwell, 34, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in July 2011, fled to Greece while he was awaiting sentencing. He was recently apprehended and extradited to the U.S.

Tod Hipsher, 51, of Irvine, pleaded guilty to a 1-count criminal information charging him with conducting an illegal gambling business.

Chi Ahn Nguyen, 45, formerly of Seattle, admitted in a plea agreement last August that he defrauded banks by exploiting the 'float time' from when a credit card bill is considered paid and when the actual payment is received.