News Releases and Statements

A Louisiana construction business, Rendon Construction LLC, and its owner, Ramon Santos, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to charges of conspiring to hide more than $280,000 gained by harboring and employing illegal aliens at multiple company work sites. The guilty plea follows an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

Christopher Andre Devine used the stolen identity information of at least 21 clients of a residential mental health program to open fraudulent bank accounts and file false tax returns.

A local attorney, Marco Antonio Delgado, remains in federal custody following his Friday arrest by special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) regarding allegations of conspiring to launder more than $600 million for a Mexican drug cartel.

Elizabeth Nevarez of Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty Monday to money laundering for the Ibarra drug trafficking organization. This investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force's Financial Investigation...

A man, Gjergj Kol Mihilli, and his two sons were arrested by law enforcement authorities Wednesday, charged with operating a $10 million money order fraud scheme from a Chandler grocery store. The charges are the result of a joint investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation...

Susan Lee Gross, a woman originally from South Korea, now of Trinidad, Colo., pleaded guilty Thursday to transporting women from other states to perform sexual services for patrons of her massage parlor in Annandale, Va.

Balvinder Singh Chadha, a former Bay Area manager for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in prison for wire fraud and conspiring to violate the federal conflict of interest statute by orchestrating a billing scheme involving a truck leasing company he operated with his wife.

Jennifer Chen, the chief financial officer of a Georgia-based paper supply company, was arraigned today on charges of conspiracy to import paper products from China with fraudulent invoices and bills of lading, and to avoid customs duties on such products. The indictment is a result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

A Romanian woman, Miruna Eugenia Lixandru, was sentenced Tuesday to 33 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Florida's Orange County Sheriff's Office.

A Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges involving the operation of an illegal gambling business, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The Department of Justice has executed restraints on more than $4 million in additional corruption proceeds in connection with the prosecution and conviction in the United Kingdom of James Onanefe Ibori, the former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta State. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Foreign...

Ahmed Alabadi was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for his role in a $2 million investment fraud scheme. The joint investigation was conducted by the FBI, ICE's HSI and the Internal Revenue Service.

A Los Angeles-area toy wholesaler, its two owners and the company's primary bookkeeper pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges related to their participation in an elaborate scheme known as a Black Market Peso Exchange, which enables drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and Colombia to launder proceeds from their drug sales.

The Webb County Sheriff's Office was presented with a check for more than $800,000 Thursday from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

One of the nation's largest and longest running stolen identity tax refund fraud schemes - involving more than 8,000 fraudulent U.S. income tax returns seeking $65 million in illicit refunds - has been shut down by a New Jersey-based task force. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents assisted in the investigation.

Ponzi scheme cost victims more than $1.6 million

An east Texas woman was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for bank fraud violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas.

A Houston lawyer was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and 36 months of home confinement Thursday, Aug. 9. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa and the U.S. Secret Service's Tampa and Newark, N.J., field offices.

Earlier this week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) shared $166,707.41 in 'asset sharing' funds with the Maryland National Guard. The funds were seized during an investigation into drug smuggling and money laundering.

A man who resided in Long Beach before he fled the country during an investigation faces up to five years in prison after admitting he orchestrated a 'pump-and-dump' stock scheme to generate demand for a penny stock issued by a sports drink company founded by Notre Dame football legend Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger.

Jeweler allegedly stole $1 million in jewelry using fake seal

Eleven defendants were charged criminally in connection with the original Internet poker indictment, seven of whom have been arrested.

"A Mexican businessman, Luis Ernesto Flores Rivera, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to conspiring with the owners of a Los Angeles-area toy wholesaler to launder thousands of ""narco dollars"" for drug trafficking organizations in Mexico."

To date, this investigation has identified more than 90 commercial shipments from several countries. The estimated value of these shipments is valued at more than $100 million.

The United States is working with the United Kingdom's Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service to forfeit these corruption proceeds.