News Releases and Statements

Scott Burns, 46, of Alvin, was sentenced to 97 months in prison and to 12 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes. Burns will also be required to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty to the charges May 18.

Saado Mohamed Ibrahim, 47, of Lebanon, was convicted of air piracy and sentenced to 20 years in prison on Aug. 18, 1997 after forcing his way into the cockpit of Iberia Flight 6621 en route from Madrid to Havana July 26, 1996, and threatening to blow it up.

Haryash Paul, 64, of Hicksville, New York, who operates Manhattan-based Glamour Line Inc. and is associated with a Jericho-based business known as TRB Designs and Resources Inc, is accused of smuggling counterfeit North Face merchandise with a value in excess of $2 million.

Steven Christopher Montes, 26, of Visalia, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to seven years in prison, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release, for possessing sexually explicit videos of minors.

From major arrests to policy and procedure updates, the diverse activities of ICE’s four main directorates, HSI, ERO, M&A and OPLA are reflected in the most viewed stories on ICE.gov. As 2015 draws to a close, here’s a look back at the top ERO, HSI and M&A stories of the year.

Taekuk Cho, who earlier this year received an award from Korea’s president, was recognized at a formal ceremony for assisting Korea with some of the nation’s highest profile cases.

Federico Calderon-Aguilar, 37, was repatriated under tight security, escorted by members of ERO's operations coordination team. Upon arriving at the port of entry, Calderon was transferred to the custody of Mexican law enforcement.

Reynaldo Ramirez, 37, of Corpus Christi, had allegedly downloaded more than 1,000 images of child pornography ranging in ages from toddlers to pre-teens, according to information in the criminal complaint..

Billy Joe Moreno, 43, of Corpus Christi, faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Phillip Binder, 43, of Woodside, New York, was sentenced on one count of producing and transporting child pornography.

Mexican authorities arrested Tirso Martinez-Sanchez, 51, of Mexico, on Feb. 2, 2014, based on a federal arrest warrant.

Rex Sistos, 38, from Dallas was sentenced Dec. 18 by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 240 months in federal prison.

Sihai Cheng, aka Chun Hai Cheng or Alex Cheng, 35, and a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to commit export violations and smuggle goods from the United States to Iran, and four counts of illegally exporting U.S. manufactured pressure transducers to Iran.

The report, released Thursday by SEVP, highlights November 2015 data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information about international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.

According to the indictment, Esau Garcia-Patino, a 23-year-old Mexican national, was stopped by the Pennsylvania State Police Oct. 20 in Cumberland County and found to be aiding and transporting the three individuals who unlawfully entered and remained in the United States. Garcia-Patino remains in custody.

Luis Martinez-Gomez, 29, Alexis Alvarado-Diaz, 20, Santos Aguilar-De Leon, 30, and Manuel Valadez-Mirales, 46, all natives and citizens of Mexico, were indicted separately by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on illegal re-entry charges.

Roman Tepozotlan-Mendoza, 50, was turned over to Mexican authorities Dec. 17 at the Lincoln Juarez Bridge in Laredo.

Rex Yang, 37, of Seattle, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays Dec. 16 to a federal information that charged him with participating in a criminal conspiracy from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 10, 2014.

Since 2012, the task force has seized more than $8,924,272.60 in illicit proceeds from criminal organizations. In addition to the 2015 cash seizures, 136 were arrested and 27 firearms were seized. Seized contraband included: 58,901 grams of cocaine, 11, 479 grams of heroin, 429 pounds of marijuana and 243 units of illegal prescription pills.

Steven Richard Smasal, 48, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was sentenced on one count of traveling abroad to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Smasal pleaded guilty to the charge July 24.

Jonathan M. Markell, 70, the owner of Silk Roads Design Gallery (which previously was located on North La Brea Avenue and now operates in the Jefferson Park district of Los Angeles), was sentenced Monday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson, who called Markell's crimes "significant."

Michael Bentley, 34, Jessica Judge, 35, and Billy Bullitt, 45, were sentenced on Monday to 200 months, 180 months, and 121 months, respectively, in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty this past summer to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

According to the factual resume filed in this case, since about 2014, Shanda Brite, 28, has allowed others, including two co-defendants, to conduct methamphetamine transactions at her house on Seal Cove in Fort Worth. In exchange, Brite received methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Eyad Farah, 42, of Barrington, Texas, was part of a network of individuals involved in smuggling firearms from the United States to the Middle East. The firearms were concealed in vehicles that had been purchased at used car auctions in central Florida.

Noel Aquino-Florenciani, 37, and Luis Angel Rivera-Reyes, 20, both of Manati, were arrested without incident at their places of residence for their alleged possession and production of child pornography.