News Releases and Statements

Brandon Hileman, 26, of Lebanon, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison without parole by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.

ERO deportation officers escorted Jeroen Van Den Elshout, 39, to Amsterdam, via a commercial flight and transferred him into the custody of Dutch law enforcement authorities.

Lancelot De Montsegur, aka Patrice Berthome, 38, was named in a one-count Indictment, returned on Feb. 19, as the as the sole defendant. He faces a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both.

An examination of a shipping container entering the United States revealed 60 packages containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.  This apprehension is the second largest cocaine seizure at the Port of New York/Newark, and the largest in nearly 25 years.

On March 6, in the 359th Montgomery County (Texas) District Court, Jeffrey Pittman, 47, from Porter, Texas, pleaded guilty to and was ordered to serve 30 years in prison for continuous sexual assault of a child; he was also sentenced to 20 years for sexual assault of a child. Pittman’s sentences are to be served concurrently. He is not eligible for early parole.

In an effort to mitigate vulnerabilities within the commerce stream that threaten the nation’s consumers and to protect national security, Homeland Security officials recently launched its Global Trade Task Force (GTTF), an ICE HSI-led multi-agency effort that leverages robust import and export controls and investigative authorities to combat illicit commercial activities.

On March 6, 2019, Gregg A. Johnson, 42, of Tucson, was found guilty by a federal jury of three counts of submitting false statements to a government agency.

On Feb. 26, a federal grand jury returned a 38-count indictment against U.S. and Philippines-based conspirators for operating a fraudulent scheme to import Native American-style jewelry and sell it to retail stores and individuals across the southwest United States as authentic jewelry made by Native Americans. The conspirators allegedly perpetrated this international fraud and money laundering scheme for several years in violation of federal laws, including the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA).

The court’s order was based on its finding that Sammy Rasema Yetisen aka Rasema Handanovic aka Zolja, a native of the former Yugoslavia, lacked the good moral character required to naturalize because during the 1990s Balkans Conflicts she had executed six unarmed civilians and prisoners of war because of their religion and ethnicity.

Gulnara Karimova, 46, a citizen of Uzbekistan, was charged in an indictment filed in the Southern District of New York on March 7 with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Karimova is a former Uzbek official who allegedly had influence over the Uzbek governmental body that regulated the telecom industry. Bekhzod Akhmedov, 44, a citizen of Uzbekistan and the former Uzbek executive, was charged in the same indictment with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), two counts of violating the FCPA, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Karimova’s and Akhmedov’s case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York.

In conjunction with the arrests, law enforcement executed search warrants at Li’s home and seven marijuana grow houses in Chino, Ontario and Chino Hills. As a result of the searches, authorities seized approximately 1,650 marijuana plants from several grow houses, as well as cash at Li’s house currently estimated to be at least $80,000.

Giovanni Hernandez, 45, from Weslaco, Texas, was convicted March 7 for his role in aiding and abetting that included attempting to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Fetahe Makonnen, 35, was convicted and sentenced after being arrested in October 2017, in possession of two computer thumb drives containing approximately 1,300 images and videos depicting child pornography involving prepubescent children.

Juan Pablo Sanchez-Delgado, 40, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. Conspiring to harbor aliens, when done for financial gain, is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Richard Stuart Wright, 76, pleaded guilty to aforementioned charges. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 60 years in prison, a fine of up to $2,500,000, or both.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of a defendant.

U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade sentenced Michael Adefemi Adeyemo, aka Adekunle Olufemi Adetiloye, 47, to serve 10 years in federal prison, which is the statutory maximum for obstruction of justice under federal law. Adeyemo is a citizen of Nigeria who was living in Canada when he was extradited to the United States.

Tomas Miguel Mateo, 38, of Guatemala, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with harboring the illegal aliens and with unlawfully re-entering the United States after having been previously deported. 

Macedonia Frances Mondragon, 33, from Great Falls, pleaded guilty in November 2018 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Bakary Camara, 32, bribed his co-conspirator Henry Gibbs (a former PennDOT agent) in order to unlawfully obtain Pennsylvania learner’s permits and non-commercial and commercial driver’s licenses for foreign nationals and others. Some of the individuals for whom the defendant assisted in getting a driver’s license did not speak English and could not pass the DMV knowledge tests.

Rafael Enrique Pinto Franceschi (Pinto), 40, of Miami, Florida, and Franz Herman Muller Huber, 68, of Weston, Florida, were charged in a five-count indictment returned in the Southern District of Texas on Feb. 21 and unsealed Feb. 26. Pinto and Muller are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Raul Beltran Jr., 50, and his son Edward Beltran, 24, both of Rio Grande City, Texas, pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana).