News Releases and Statements

The arrests, which occurred Thursday, are the latest development in a long-term investigation launched in 2014 targeting a drug trafficking organization allegedly spearheaded by Erick Erives, the son of current DEA fugitive Ignacio Alfredo Erives-Martinez.

John James Denicola, 55, of Suwanee, Georgia, was charged in a federal complaint with one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and one count of attempted coercion and enticement.

Kyong Suk Kipilla, 58, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced March 4 to two years' probation and fined $20,000 for illegally structuring financial transactions.

David Aaron Diaz, 35, was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Raul Casarez, 35, from Weslaco, Texas, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, which will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. The court also ordered a total of $9,500 in restitution for all of the identified victims in this case.

Bahena’s efforts – and those of the nearly 200 servicemen and women in the Army National Guard’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Normal, Illinois – were recognized Feb. 26, 2016 at the 16th Annual Reserve Family Readiness Award ceremony at the Pentagon.

Roberto Meza, 40, was the 17th and final defendant to be sentenced to federal prison as a result of this multi-agency investigation.

Charles Richard Burks, 67, of Mansfield, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in July 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint, following the execution of a search warrant at his residence.

Crystal Yvette Martinez, 25, and Tina Marie Trevino, 24, both from Brownsville, were sentenced to 240 months and 75 months in federal prison, respectively.

On the evening of March 1, task force members observed suspicious activity surrounding a recently landed private aircraft. Following a K-9 inspection of the aircraft exterior and baggage, a search warrant was executed and several bundles of U.S. currency were recovered.

Michael Daniel Rubens, 31, formerly of Tallahassee, admitted between January 2012 and January 2015, he publicly humiliated dozens of young women by hacking into their online accounts, including email and social media, stealing photographs and other personal information, using the photographs to create pornography, and posting the pornographic images on social media websites and on a revenge pornography website that was recently shut down by the FBI.

The repatriated documents include: a signed order from Josef Stalin issued on March 14, 1944; a decree signed by Peter the Great; numerous decrees signed by empresses and emperors dating from 1736-1893; and 17 drawings by Russian architect Yakov Chernikov.

Juan Saul Mendoza-Contreras, 29, also known as “El Chacala,” was turned over to Mexican authorities at the international boundary on El Paso’s Stanton Bridge Port of Entry.

The international collaboration was part of Operation Team Player, an ongoing effort targeting the illegal importation of counterfeit sports-related merchandise, which culminated last month in San Francisco, California, ahead of Super Bowl 50.

In addition to the prison term, Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., 70, of Central City, Pennsylvania was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution to each of the two minor victims.

Deputy Director Ragsdale noted that the original agreement between our nations to dedicate resources and personnel to a committed relationship helped revolutionize investigations of transnational criminal organizations that were operating seamlessly between the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Ruben Soliz, 24, from Abilene, Texas, had pleaded guilty in December 2015 to one count of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. Three co-defendants also charged in the case, Abilene residents, Andrew Dean Cruz, 30, and Roberto Carlos Villarreal, 31; and San Angelo, Texas, resident, Richard Louis Martinez, 27, each pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

In addition to his prison sentence, Louis Brothers, 63, of Covington, Kentucky, must also pay a monetary judgment of $1.1 million.

Sam Herbert Allen Jr., 54, of San Juan Capistrano, was sentenced late Monday. Allen pleaded guilty in February 2015 to conspiring to defraud the United States by deceitful and dishonest means. The charges stem from a probe by ICE OPR, ICE HSI and CBP OPR.

On March 20, 2013, Francis J. Moloney, fraudulently obtained a driver’s license using the identity and Social Security number of an Irish national and former permanent legal resident, after that person renounced his legal status in the United States and returned to Ireland.

Alejandro Castillo, Jr., 36, of Chula Vista, was arrested on a federal child pornography charge in April 2015 by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Castillo pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography in September 2015.

Jorge Betancourt, 37, of Robstown, Texas, pleaded guilty to the charges March 1. Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head set sentencing for May 25. At that time, Betancourt faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Chudy and Sandra Nsobundu, 56 and 50, respectively, are charged with forced labor, withholding documents, visa fraud, and conspiracy to harbor and harboring an illegal alien. They were originally charged by criminal complaint Feb. 4 and arrested four days later.

Josimar Badillo-Ortiz, 29, from Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced Feb. 26 by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 240 months in prison. Badillo-Ortiz’s two co-conspirators, Joel Gonzalez-Oviedo, 25, and Juan Carranza-Moreno, 31, both from Fort Worth, are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McBryde March 25.