News Releases and Statements

The graduation participants and guests filled the seats of a large conference room in the HSI New York Office. The ceremony opened with the presentation of colors by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Color Guard and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. HSI New York Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Angel M. Melendez offered the opening remarks, and addressed Explorers, thanking them for their commitment to the program and thanking their families for allowing HSI to teach their kids.

Guatemalan authorities recently provided the ICE attaché office in Guatemala with a warrant charging Fredy Mariony Alvarado-Calderon, a previously removed alien with multiple felony convictions in the United States, with killing or attempting to kill an individual by shooting him with a firearm on Oct. 13, 2016, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. ICE authorities in Guatemala also obtained information related to Alvarado-Calderon’s whereabouts and his known aliases.

The unassuming office in Williston, Vermont, supports enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws and plays an important role in the identification of criminal aliens.

In May 2017, a federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment charging conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking against Shatara Armstrong, 31, and the following four other co-defendants: Marquist Fulcher, aka “Keezie,” 28, Chapoleon Fischer, aka “Kidd,” 28, Marcus Speed, 26, and Tiffany Gideon, 22.

Among the Tucson residents taken into custody Monday was the organization’s alleged ringleader, Rene Marcos Vera, 44. Also arrested were Raquel Ann Stansberry, 35; Cesar Diaz German, 50; Rosella Maria DeLeon, 58; Richard Andrew Leon, 38; Rene Marcos Vera II, 22. Tawney Waner, 31, a resident of Las Vegas and Joseph Sorce, 41, were both arrested in Chicago.

Joao Pereira da Fonseca, 55, a citizen of Portugal, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from a scheme in which he conspired to help an Iranian company unlawfully obtain sophisticated equipment from two companies in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced Juan Leonardo Tello, 50, of Dallas, Texas, to 180 months in federal prison. In May 2017, Judge O’Connor sentenced the following three co-defendants to federal prison sentences for their roles in this methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy: Jackie Eugene Clayton, 38, to 235 months in federal prison; Juan Carlos Lopez, 53, to 100 months in federal prison; and Rudy Roman Ramirez, 45, to 135 months.

Eduardo Cervantes-Ruiz, 35, is accused of a 2008 homicide that occurred in State of Queretaro, Mexico. Cervantes-Ruiz was escorted by ICE officers to the U.S.-Mexico border at Laredo, Texas, and transferred to Mexican authorities July 17.

Jose Manuel Sustaita-Velez, aka El Pelon, 33, was escorted to the Juarez Lincoln Port in Laredo, Texas, and turned over to Mexico’s Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) July 17.

Corey Nelson, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 230 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in September 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance.  Nelson has been in custody since mid-July 2015 following a law enforcement operation led by the FBI, the Dallas Police Department and IRS.

Jamal Redmond Wallace, 33, a citizen of The Bahamas, was arrested in Tampa by U.S. Border Patrol on March 29, 2017, the day an arrest warrant was issued by Bahamian authorities

Javier Canizalez-Hernandez, 40, a citizen of Honduras, previously admitted during his guilty plea to using the Social Security number that was not assigned to him to obtain a Louisiana Identification card from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Houma.

Henry Konah Koffie, 32, of Darby, Pa., is accused of importing and distributing a controlled substance resulting in death. Koffie was ordered detained awaiting trial at a sentencing hearing Tuesday in Philadelphia and will be transferred from the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia to the District of Oregon.

Marcel Peckham, 43, of Little Neck, New York, Catalin Mihai Dragomir, 33, of Glendale, New York, Eduard Vasilica Ticu, 32, of Glendale, and Silvester Florentin Papp, 25, of Ridgewood, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The initiative aims to safeguard and prevent young girls from being subjected to FGM by informing passengers traveling to high-prevalence countries about the U.S. laws governing FGM and the potential criminal, immigration, and child protective consequences of transporting a child to another country for the purpose of FGM.

According to the March 2 plea agreement, Jesus Nieto, 20, used social media sites to communicate with the minor girls, ages 11 and 15, for the purpose of soliciting sexually explicit pictures. He also persuaded and coerced the girls into engaging in sexual intercourse with him.

Brandon K. Phelps, 33, was the subject of a combined investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Seattle Police Department in its role as operator of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.

Arnoldo Mendoza Lepez, 44, of Littlefield, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Co-defendants Joseph Raymond Jaramillo Jr., 30, and Zahir Rivera-Pineda, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this month to their role in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

The operation, which took place July 5-10, was the result of a probe by the Washington State Patrol’s (WSP) Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF) including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Russell Tim Shen, 69, Andre Jorge Hernandez, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.  They face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Ernesto Esteve, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.

Todd Darren Rickdal, 50, of Seattle, first came to the attention of special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after he responded to a Seattle Police Department Craigslist ad during a 2016 sting operation.