News Releases and Statements

Jackson and his conspirators allegedly agreed to defraud account holders at Pittsburgh area banks by a remote deposit, mobile-banking scheme in which Jackson and conspirators deposited fictitious checks into victim accounts, and later withdrew cash at the Rivers Casino and ATMs.

Anwer Rao, 36, and Michael Lentsch, 36, both from of O’Fallon, Illinois, were each sentenced to 150 months in prison on numerous counts related to conspiracy to sell synthetic drugs, commonly known as “bath salts.”

Johnny Acosta, 38, of Douglas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to felony charges of conspiracy to import more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and accepting bribes as a public official.

Amsterdam-based VimpelCom Limited, the world’s sixth-largest telecommunications company and an issuer of publicly traded securities in the United States, and its wholly-owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel LLC, entered into resolutions with the Department of Justice Thursday.

Andrew Clint McDaniels, 30, of Hugoton, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography.

Alex Sanchez, Jr., 36, who was the manager of El Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Ottawa, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage.

Charles R. Burge, 36, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the following charges: three counts of first-degree statutory rape, one count of sexually exploiting a minor, one count of enticing a child, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

John Tyler Gariglietti, 32, of Pittsburg, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography.

Ernesto Leyva, 27, of Lincoln, Nebraska, formerly of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 15 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and transport stolen goods.

Luis Ramon Casellas, 42, of Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty July 15 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Camille L. Velez-Rive of the District of Puerto Rico to three counts of bulk cash smuggling and one count of theft of government property.

HSI plays a key role in combating cross-border crime and is a leader in the global fight against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that exploit legitimate travel, trade and financial systems for illicit purposes.

The shipping container originated in Chile and was ultimately destined for Georgia after stops at several ports along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Oytun Ayse Mihalik, 43, formerly of La Palma, was repatriated on board commercial flights escorted by San Francisco-based ERO officers. After arriving at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, ERO officers transferred Mihalik to the custody of Turkish law enforcement.

Michael Silva, 25, of West Orange, N.J., was arrested Sept. 11, 2015, on a 15-count indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft, 11 counts of access-devise fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Roger Tam, 55, and his wife, Ada Lei, 48, of Novi were charged in the complaint.

All the counterfeit items were seized in Denver’s Civic Center Park area Feb. 9 from 15 vendors; no arrests were made. The seizures consisted of T-shirts, jerseys and beanies with Broncos trademarks as well as Super Bowl 50 trademarks.

Helaman Hansen, 63, of Elk Grove, is named in a 13-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud; 11 counts of mail fraud; and one count of wire fraud. The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending February 12, 2016

Robert Mark Haugland, II, 25, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of transporting child pornography.

Michael Cleo Ivy, 37, of Abilene, Texas, was sentenced Thursday to 121 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2015 to an indictment charging one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography.

Francisco Roberto Esquibel Jr., 34, from Albuquerque, was charged in a criminal complaint filed June 11, 2015, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The complaint alleged that Esquibel unlawfully possessed a stolen firearm at his residence in Albuquerque on June 10, 2015.

Zdenko Jakiša, 47, a resident of Forrest Lake, Minnesota, was sentenced to time served for failing to disclose, during his immigration to the United States, multiple crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina before and during the 1990s Bosnian Conflict.

Francis De Jesus-Falero, 47, of San Juan, was arrested for attempted sexual enticement of a minor and attempted production of child pornography.

Sofia Acosta de Caballero, 34, and Edward Navarro, 29, are named in a three-count federal indictment. Each is charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States. Acosta is also charged with two substantive counts of smuggling goods from the United States, and Navarro with one substantive count of smuggling goods from the United States.

Four federal criminal complaints, partially unsealed Feb. 11, charge a total of 50 individuals with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and/or 500 grams or more of cocaine. Thirty-six of those defendants were arrested in the Feb. 10 operation, five were already in custody at various locations on unrelated state charges, and nine have not yet been arrested.