News Releases and Statements

Osvaldo Iglesias Ruiz, 34, was charged in March with possession with intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of cocaine. He made an initial appearance on the drug trafficking charges and was released after posting bond. Shortly following his release, Ruiz was apprehended by authorities as he was allegedly attempting to flee the U.S. in a boat off the coast of Florida heading towards Cuba.

Donovan Pham Nguyen, 34, of Riverside, is charged with one count of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee, according to a criminal complaint unsealed today. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Steven Lee McBride, 51, faces a mandatory minimum 15-years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on Oct. 26.

Jorge Vasquez, 60, of Fontana, the owner of H-2A Placement Services, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered Vasquez to pay $135,389 in restitution. Vasquez pleaded guilty in June 2019 to one count of conspiracy and one count of aiding and abetting fraud in foreign labor contracting.

Following an ICE HSI and PRCACTF investigation, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Francisco Xavier Ortiz-Colón charging him with 12 counts of child exploitation.

Melvin Ramirez-Russel, 39, was brought to ICE’s attention by the Montgomery County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in January after they arrested him for brutally killing Gerardo Munoz de la Paz and attempting to cover up the crime by disposing of the body.

The 287(g) program, authorized by Congress, allows local law enforcement agencies to participate as an active partner in identifying criminal aliens in their custody, and placing ICE detainers on these individuals.

Popescu was arrested in Bucharest, Romania, by Romanian law enforcement officials August 14 at the request of the United States and was extradited to the United States Saturday, August 15.

On August 18, 2020, Oscar Sepulveda was sentenced to 108 months in prison and ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution for distributing and possessing child pornography.

Dakotah Ray Horton, 24, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count of assaulting a federal officer.

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will further extend this policy for an additional 30 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now Sept. 19.

ICE lodged immigration detainers against unlawfully present Salvadoran nationals Moises Orlando Celaya-Veliz, 25; Jose Eliezar Molina-Veliz, 20; Santos Ernesto Gutierrez Castro, 21; Carlos Jose Turicios Villatoro, 22; Jonathan Rafael Zelaya-Veliz, 24; Nelson Ezequiel Caballero Portillo, 24; Luis Alberto Gonzales, 31; unlawfully present Guatemalan national Gilberto Morales, 31, and unlawfully present Honduran nationals Sioni Alexander Bonilla Gonzalez, 20, and Orlando Alexis Salmeron Funez, 38. Celaya, Molina, Gutierrez, Turicios and Bonilla entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. An 11th individual was arrested by the FBI and is not currently subject to immigration enforcement.

On Feb. 3, 2017, Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant against Neri-Dominguez for the aggravated assault of a child. Additionally, Neri-Dominquez has a 2008 felony conviction issued by the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, for possession with intent to distribute marijuana that carried a sentence of 41 months. In 2018, Neri-Dominquez was also charged and convicted in the U.S. of illegal reentry.

On July 15, 2020, Hang “Henry” Chen, an employee of CBK, CBK International, and Silicon Electronics, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Donato to four months incarceration with three-years supervised release, a $75,000 fine, and restitution up to $137,000.

Demetrio Ignacio-Flores, a 38-year-old illegally present Mexican national, is wanted in Oaxaca, Mexico, for the 2010 murder of his wife. HSI Richmond received information indicating Ignacio-Flores was residing in the Richmond-area under an assumed identity.

On Nov. 20, 2019, Enrique Sánchez-Hernández, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.

Efrain Rivas-Reyes, 45, a citizen and national of El Salvador, is wanted for criminal prosecution by the government of El Salvador for alien smuggling and fraud. On June 29, 2016, the government of El Salvador issued an Interpol Red Notice for Rivas-Reyes.

These three terror finance campaigns all relied on sophisticated cyber-tools, including the solicitation of cryptocurrency donations from around the world. The action demonstrates how different terrorist groups have similarly adapted their terror finance activities to the cyber age.

Arman Manukyan, 49, of Panorama City, was charged today with one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

As detailed in the civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed Aug.3, 2020, defendants Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh, and Nguyen Duy Toan, all residents of Vietnam, are alleged to have engaged in a wire fraud scheme seeking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Dec.16, 1999, Guillen-Vega was admitted to the United States at El Paso, Texas, on a nonimmigrant B-2 visa with authorization to remain in the United States until June 15, 2000. Guillen-Vega subsequently remained in the United States beyond June 15, 2000, and became unlawfully present at that time.

Lino Angel-Olalde, 48, has been removed from the United States on nine prior occasions over the last two decades. He has three federal felony convictions for reentry after deportation and multiple prior drug, assault, terroristic threats and evading arrest convictions.

Three separate criminal complaints were unsealed Tuesday in federal court charging defendants Richard Arline, Jr., Donnell Russell and Michael Williams, respectively, with crimes relating to their efforts to harass, intimidate, threaten or corruptly influence individuals named as alleged victims in the racketeering case against Kelly, currently pending in the Eastern District of New York (the Kelly case).