News Releases and Statements

Wilmer Chavez Romero aka “Charmin,” 27, is charged by indictment with one count each of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to harbor aliens resulting in death; two counts of using a firearm for a violent crime; and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

Lawrence McCollum, 62, of Seattle, first caught the attention of law enforcement when an HSI special agent downloaded child pornography files via a peer-to-peer file sharing program linked to McCollum’s residence.

David M. Adams, 30, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls on information charging him with one count of online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct.

Martez Alando Gurley, 41, and Victor Lamar Coates, 47, admitted that they each trafficked more than 10,000 counterfeit tablets. On Dec. 6, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Gurley to 75 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $410,508 in restitution to Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company — the licensed patent trademark holders of Viagra and Cialis.

William Shyu, 32, of Lisle, Illinois, agreed to a seven-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for pleading guilty to involuntary sexual servitude of a minor. Kane County Circuit Judge John A. Barsanti accepted Shyu’s plea Dec. 2. 

Janelle Isaacs, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 72 months in federal prison following her guilty plea in June 2016 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute at least five kilograms or more of cocaine

Jose Luis Cepeda Cortes, 60, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to two life sentences plus 240 months, which will run concurrently. Cepeda Cortes was convicted at trial in May 2016 on one count of interstate stalking, one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and one count of tampering with documents or proceedings.

On Sept. 8, 2009, HSI New York recovered a nesting sarcophagus from a garage in Brooklyn, New York. One year later, on Sept. 24, 2010, following leads from the Brooklyn case, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Newark seized a shipment of smuggled Egyptian goods, including a funerary boat model and figurines. 

Bekbosun Kydykbaev, aka Bekbolsun Kadyrovich Kydykbaev, 66, departed Dallas under ICE escort Nov. 28 by commercial aircraft and arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Nov. 30, via Chicago and Istanbul, Turkey.

Every day the women and men of IHSC confront challenging situations on the front lines of immigration enforcement as they compassionately tend to ICE detainee’s medical, dental and mental health needs. The population they work with includes women, children and men with varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and nationalities.

Mohammad Abdul Wahid, 54, of Queens, New York, and Mohammed Iqbal Kabir, 42, of Bronx, New York, are charged by complaint with one count each of conspiracy to commit human trafficking related offenses, conspiracy to harbor undocumented persons for financial gain; and violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

William Joseph Boyle, age 47, of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 78 months and ordered to pay $429,000 in restitution, three years supervised release, $1,000 special assessment, and forfeiture of $415,000. 

Vallabh Prakash, 86, and his son Aditya Prakash, 47, both were arrested at their homes in Mumbai, India.  Each is being charged by Indian authorities with smuggling idols stolen from temples in India.  Originally from Nepal, the Prakash family settled in Mumbai in 1959.

Lawrence Gunn Jr., 32, was taken into custody based on a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court that charges him with sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion.

Jeffrey Burlingame, 59, was arrested in February 2016 on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The complaint alleged that Burlingame committed the crime Feb. 24, 2016, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

Julio Cesar Velasquez-Reyes, 25, was flown to El Salvador Nov. 29 and turned over to Salvadoran officials. The El Salvador arrest warrant states that on March 24, 2014, Velasquez-Reyes met with a man named David Eliseo in the area of El Cuco Chirilagua, San Miguel. 

Jose Ever Bonilla-Rodriguez, 33, was flown to El Salvador Nov. 29 and turned over to Salvadoran officials. The El Salvador arrest warrant states that on Sept. 25, 2012, Bonilla-Rodriguez was sent to prison for his role in an aggravated robbery. 

Samuel Velasco Gurrola, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. He faces up to life in federal prison when sentenced.

Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, both from El Paso, Texas, admitted they smuggled two illegal aliens through the Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas. 

The project was led by Operation Finally Home, an organization that provides mortgage free homes to America’s military heroes, as well as home building firms Miller and Smith and Newland Communities. The groundbreaking for the house begins Nov. 14 and the Goodrich family will move into their new Stafford, Virginia home in March 2017.

Claudia Raquel Herrera-Ibarra, 35, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Jonathan James Ruiz, 24, of Laredo, were sentenced to 60 and 84 months imprisonment, respectively, by U.S. District Judge Mariana Garcia Marmolego. 

A Brazilian national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Nov. 25 at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, with a preliminary cause of death identified as cardiac arrest.

A Guatemalan national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Sunday morning at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center (BCGMC) in Casa Grande after hospital staff were unable to revive her.