News Releases and Statements

Ricky Lugo, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to a year and a day in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $104,239. In Oct 2015, he was charged with four counts of trafficking in counterfeit versions of erectile dysfunction medications, including Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra, Eli Lilly’s Cialis, and Bayer’s Levitra.

Joshua Dunston, 38, of Bangor, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography. He also received a consecutive sentenced of 24 additional months for violating the terms and conditions of his supervised release, stemming for his 2006 child pornography conviction.

The jury deliberated for about a half-hour before returning a guilty verdict against Jeffrey Parkhurst, 59, of Springfield, Illinois, for attempting to entice a minor.

Joshua Paul Crouch, 28, of San Pedro, was arrested Wednesday in San Pedro and charged Thursday with attempted sex-trafficking of a minor. This is one of the first prosecutions in Los Angeles under a recent change to the federal sex-trafficking statute.

Can Thanh Nguyen, 63, was found guilty Thursday of importing and bringing Asian songbirds into the United States in violation of federal law.

34-year-old Roberto Craciunica, a Romanian man believed to be residing in Germany, was indicted in October 2015 in the Eastern District of Virginia for a variety of charges related to manufacturing and distributing counterfeit badges, including trafficking in counterfeit goods; smuggling; and possession, sale or transportation of false seals. Interpol has also issued a Red Notice for Craciunica’s arrest.

Eduardo Pena, 33, from Palmview, Texas, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez. Judge Alvarez accepted Pena's guilty plea and set his sentencing for June 16. At that time, Pena faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison, and a possible $250,000 fine.

John Capuano, 43, of Valley Stream, New York admits to using an Internet application to trade child pornography and posting the images on-line.

Brett Corcoran, 26, of Ava, Missouri, pleaded guilty to the charge contained in a Sept. 30, 2015, federal indictment. Corcoran has been in federal custody since his Oct. 6 arrest.

The ensuing probe by HSI special agents in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, working closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and HKSAR’s Customs and Excise Department, revealed the smuggling scheme resulted in more than 7,000 shipping containers of apparel, worth over $600 million, being illegally imported into the United States.

Paul L. Sipeer, 65, of Duenweg, Missouri, pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography via the Internet. Sipeer has been held in federal custody without bond since his Jan. 28 arrest.

Ronnie Dean Haskins II, aka Dirty Red, 43, of Oklahoma, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan of the Northern District of Oklahoma, who also ordered Haskins to serve five years of supervised release.

Clinton Hayden, 29, aka Showtime, admitted to recruiting, enticing, and transporting two minor females from Luzerne County to Brooklyn to engage in commercial sex acts.

Roderick Johnson, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in June 2015 when Fort Worth Police Department officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a motel room in Fort Worth.

Victor Flores, 45, and José Juan Saavedra, 40, both from Houston, and Ricardo Cavazos-Garza, 51, of Brownsville, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal to 30, 24 and 28 months in federal prison, respectively.

Most of the individuals arrested during Project Shadowfire were U.S. citizens, but 239 foreign nationals from 13 countries in Central America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean were also arrested. Of the 1,133 arrests, 915 were gang members and associates, 1,001 were charged with criminal offenses and 132 were arrested administratively for immigration violations.

Ignacio Gallegos, 27, was also ordered to be placed on supervised release for 10 years after completing his prison term. On Jan. 5, Gallegos pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography, and possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of children.

More than a year in development, the three-day course utilizing many of the MOT’s interactive exhibits challenges participants to recognize their own inherent cultural biases and identify ways to develop progressive leadership practices in their respective programs. While the course is modeled on training the MOT conducts for other state and local law enforcement agencies worldwide, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the curriculum was customized to address the unique issues inherent in ICE’s federal law enforcement mission.

Frank Russell McCoy, of Otsego, Minnesota, was found guilty of possessing child pornography after a two-day trial that ended Dec. 8, 2015.

Augustin Enrique Cruz, aka Tinky, 22, of Tucson, was taken into custody Thursday on various federal criminal charges, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering and tunnel-related offenses.

Eric James Mitchell, 36, was arrested on probable cause after HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his Long Beach residence and discovered sexually explicit images of minors on digital devices in the home.

Following a lead from the USMS, Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers from ICE ERO Houston – Fugitive Operations Team located and arrested Efren Cruz-Nunez, a citizen of Honduras who entered the United States in 1998.

Hansel German, 25, of Boston and Andy Pena, 21, of Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, were sentenced to eight years for aiding and abetting the transportation of a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution, and one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute. Enoc Ayuso, 26, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was also sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in the trafficking conspiracy. Rafael Reyes, 22, of Boston, has pleaded guilty to his involvement and will be sentenced next week in United States District Court.