News Releases and Statements

The purpose of the event was to honor 745 DHS employees from across the country for their extraordinary work and professional excellence. Deputy Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas joined Secretary Johnson for the formal and elaborate ceremony.

Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, both of El Paso, made their appearances Nov. 2 before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington.

The task force will fight human trafficking in Hampton Roads by identifying, rescuing, and restoring victims; building awareness about the realities of human trafficking in the region and across Virginia; and investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes. 

Allen Goossen, 30, of Farmington, New Mexico, must also serve three years of supervised release after he’s released from prison. Goossen was convicted for possessing 12 grams (0.4 ounces) of heroin. 

Stephen Roy Walker, 43, pleaded guilty Aug. 4, admitting to transporting 462 digital images and 42 digital videos containing child pornography from Texas to Idaho. 

Miguel Zelaya, 22, an unlawfully present Honduran national, and Luis Ordonez-Vega, 37, a Guatemalan national, were both sentenced to life in prison Monday by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. A federal jury in Charlotte previously convicted both men in April on conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity (RICO), murder in aid of racketeering, use or carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.

Over a two-day period, authorities arrested four defendants in Mexico and two in Queens, New York, as part of a coordinated bilateral law enforcement action. The six defendants are Raul Romero-Granados, aka Chicarcas and El Negro, 32; Isaac Lomeli-Rivera, aka Giro, 34; Efrain Granados-Corona, aka Chavito and Cepillo, 41; Alan Romero-Granados, aka El Flaco, 24; Pedro Rojas-Romero, 37; and Emilio Rojas-Romero, 34.  Juan Romero-Granados, aka Chegoya and El Guero, remains a fugitive.

Ahmed Nasir Tahlil Mohamud, 41, formerly of Anaheim Calif., was repatriated on board commercial flights escorted by Los Angeles-based ERO deportation officers as far as Nairobi, Kenya. After arriving in Nairobi, the deportation officers transferred Mohamud to a non-stop flight bound for Mogadishu and Somali authorities subsequently confirmed his arrival.

“Operation Hyperion” was initiated by U.S. federal law enforcement, the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) and members of Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, as the first step in developing a more unified global law enforcement response to the growing usage of the Darknet by individuals seeking to buy and sell illicit drugs and other illegal goods and services.

The defendants are charged with the transfer of funds through dozens of shell companies in the United States and Mexico as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain tax refunds from the government in Mexico.

Ali Afif Al Herz, 51, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts that included the following crimes: conspiring to deal in firearms without a license, conspiring to illegally ship firearms in interstate and foreign commerce, conspiring to commit money laundering, violating the Arms Export Control Act, and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of a crime of domestic violence.

Michael Quinn, 33, of Melbourne, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter. Quinn was arrested May 21 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) when he arrived at a Los Angeles-area hotel to buy a 6-year-old boy for sex.

Calvin Bernhardt, 54, of Tuttle, North Dakota, was found guilty, following a four-day trial, on charges of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted receipt of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, counterfeit currency, tampering with witness or evidence, and attempted travel with intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor.

James Jeffrey Schroeder, 50, of Arlington, a former teacher’s assistant at Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas, pleaded guilty today to charges of receiving and downloading child pornography.

Daye Dong, 49, and Hongyu Chen, 48, are charged with importing counterfeit goods from China into the United States with the intent to distribute and sell the counterfeit products to retailers in New York City and elsewhere.

Jaquan Casanova aka “Cass,” “Joffe,” “Joffy,” and “Joffy Joe,” 24, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 28 years in prison and five years of supervised release.  

Zavik Zargarian, 52, of Glendale, and Vache Nayirian, 57, of Lakeview Terrace, were taken into custody Wednesday morning by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Arcenio Esparza-Perez, 40, was transported by bus to the U.S. Mexico border at Laredo, Texas, and transferred to Mexican authorities Oct. 28.

Sidney Caleb Lanier, 36, was arrested at his home on 154th Street. Jessica Christine Holl, 28, and Jamie Marie Robertson, 32, were arrested at their apartment on 4th Street. A date and time for their initial appearances has not been set yet.

Jason Prawl, aka “Boots,” 28, of Bridgeport, Connecticut made a first appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.

Jaclyn Hilow, age 29, of Winchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr.  Hilow previously had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

Omar Quintero, 28, of Los Angeles, Miguel Angel Quintero Jr., 38, also of Los Angeles; Eliasib Ventura, 34, of Alhambra; and Jonathan Ventura, 31, of Pomona, were taken into custody Tuesday afternoon and were named in a one-count criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.