News Releases and Statements

Allen Smith, 50, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced Feb. 6 by U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.  In addition to his prison term, Smith was ordered to pay $867,150 in restitution and to forfeit $42,269 worth of illicit proceeds.

Pedro Ojeda-Ramirez, 24, and Ulises Alaim Saijas-Zamorano, 22, both of Mexico, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to prison terms of 140 months and 60 months, respectively.

Clarence Counterman, 59, owner of an income tax return preparation business known as Taxrite, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Counterman’s co-defendant, Robert Loya, 52, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Jebediah Dishman, 70, of Freedonia, Kansas, was arrested Nov. 8 in Houston and originally charged by criminal complaint.

Javier Atlixqueno-Vaquero, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested late Tuesday night after ERO identified Vaquero leaving his residence. Atlixqueno is a convicted felon for the crimes of sexual assault with a minor, felony sale of hallucinogen/narcotic controlled substance, and felony failure to appear.

Jack Vitayanon, 41, is an attorney with the IRS for the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) in Washington. Vitayanon is facing charges of conspiring with others to distribute 500 grams or more of Methamphetamine.

More than 80 stakeholders attended the forum, representing close to 25 agencies from the surrounding Philadelphia region. 

To date, 13 members of the Granados organization have been indicted in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) on sex trafficking charges. Raul Granados-Rendon was the last fugitive to be arrested and extradited to face the charges.

Nileshkumar Patel, 42, and Harsad Mehta, 68, both of India, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to separate superseding information charging them each with one count of conspiracy to smuggle foreign nationals into the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

Miguel Antonio Azcona, aka “Miguel A. Azcona-Peralta,” 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton federal court to information charging him with one count of theft of government funds.

Luis Alejandro Villegas, 31, was released from local custody Dec. 31, 2016, after being detained for driving while intoxicated. Villegas has a previous criminal conviction for robbery in the first degree, forcible theft with a deadly weapon for which he served five years’ imprisonment.  Following his prison term, Villegas was removed from the United States in 2007 pursuant to a final order of removal.

Christopher David Johnston, 40, of Ferndale, first came to the attention of special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after posting an ad in the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist’s personal ad site. Phrases used in the ad led HSI special agents to believe Johnston was seeking sex with minors.

All 16 arrested during this operation had been convicted of crimes in the United States and fall within ICE’s enforcement priorities. Their convictions include the following crimes: force/assault with a deadly weapon not firearm — gross bodily injury likely, receiving stolen property, battery, grand theft (auto), drug possession with intent to distribute, and drunk driving. Two were previously deported and two have outstanding deportation orders.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) recognizes that severe consequences of human trafficking continue even after perpetrators have been arrested. ICE’s Victim Assistance Program (VAP) helps coordinate services such as crisis intervention, counseling and emotional support to help human trafficking victims.

Arnoldo Rueda-Medina, 47, known by several aliases including “La Minsa,” made his initial appearance in federal court in Dallas Jan 27 before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan on charges outlined in a second superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas in September 2010.

January is recognized as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month but ICE HSI will be conducting anti-human trafficking training throughout 2017 and beyond. In fact, HSI has a record high 22 international and 32 domestic training events planned for 2017.

Sai W. Fung, president and CEO of Bren-Tronics, Inc. and UltraCell, LLC and the owner of RCE Manufacturing, LLC has volunteered on behalf of each company to enter the IMAGE program. The new partnership was marked Thursday by an ceremony at HSI New York’s Manhattan office.

Sergio Heredia, aka Keko, aka Sobrino, of Piedras Negras, Mexico, was sentenced Jan. 26 to 180 months in federal prison. Heredia pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Miguel Jimenez Jr., from Freeport, Texas, came to the attention of authorities after they believed he was uploading and storing child pornography into a virtual storage account. A search warrant was executed at his residence, at which time law enforcement located and seized various computers and cellphones. Forensic analysis of the phones, computers and virtual storage accounts revealed 658 child pornography images and 634 child pornography videos. 

Luis Alfonso Felix-Hernandez, 28, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake. Felix-Hernandez was convicted last year of four criminal counts related to drug trafficking, including conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine and organizing and overseeing the distribution of methamphetamine.

HSI special agents executed the arrest of Gabriel Maldonado-Hernandez, 19, of Parcelas Navas, Arecibo, without incident.

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Jason Michael Ehret, 44, an active-duty officer serving as an aviation flight instructor, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Janis Graham.  Ehret was further ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.  He must also serve the rest of his life on supervised release, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.