News Releases and Statements

According to court documents, between June 2013 and July 2014, Jude Thaddeus Danahy, 35, of Buffalo, New York, communicated via email and text messages with an undercover agent that he believed was the mother of an 11-year-old girl. Danahy was arrested July 1, 2014, and pleaded guilty Aug. 27. At sentencing, he was also ordered to forfeit the equipment he had used to commit the offense.

With January being set aside for National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, ICE is serious about taking the necessary steps to end the crime. ICE relies on tips from the public to dismantle these individuals and organizations who exploit their victims and encourages education and awareness as part of the process to bring an end to this modern-day form of slavery.

Sylvia Grado, 31; and co-defendants Juan Grado, 34, and Carlos Magallanes, 34; all from Deming, New Mexico, were arrested in July 2014 on a seven-count indictment alleging methamphetamine trafficking. All three defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Luna County, New Mexico, between October 2012 and May 2013.

A sentencing date has not yet been set for Kevin Charles Kaszynski, 49, of Fort Myers. According to the plea agreement, while going through boxes that had been stored in a leased storage unit, Kaszynski’s estranged wife found a computer hard drive among other items belonging to her husband.

On Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane accepted the guilty plea of Mario Guadalupe Saenz, 27, of McAllen. Judge Crane set sentencing for April 9 in which Saenz could face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison.

Daniel Mata, 28, of Rio Bravo, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge George Kazen to 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Carlos Aragon-Carrillo, 30, and Juan Garcia-Rodriguez, 49, both Mexican citizens illegally residing in Laredo, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack. Judge Jack sentenced Aragon-Carrillo to 77 months in federal prison.

Oscar J. Aguilar, 38, a Mexican citizen legally residing in Brownsville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, to 168 months in federal prison. Aguilar was further ordered to pay a $1,893,170 money judgment which represented the proceeds of drug smuggling that were laundered in the scheme.

Daniel Huzinec, 23, allegedly shared photographs of male children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a peer-to-peer website. This conduct included the sexual abuse of male children by adult males and male children engaging in sexual activity with other male children.

Bardomiano Jungo, 36, was sentenced Jan. 27 by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 121 months in federal prison without parole.

Kenneth Gaylord Stokes, 70, a U.S. citizen who resided near the city of Cebu in the Philippines, pleaded guilty Jan. 27 before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

Ruben Judas Ruiz-Vazquez, 42, a U.S. permanent resident from Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo to 70 months in federal prison. As a convicted criminal alien, Ruiz-Vasquez is also expected to face deportation proceedings. He pleaded guilty to the charges Oct. 21.

Alexander Tovar, 26, and Miguel Valentin, 30, of Providence, were each sentenced for their participation in the heroin and cocaine trafficking conspiracy that ended with the seizure of more than 486 grams of heroin and 462 grams of cocaine.

On March 4, 2014, after a two-day trial in District Court, a jury found Tony Jefferson Browne, 31, guilty of 12 counts of federal child exploitation offenses involving four girls ranging from ages 12 to 17.

Emilio Padilla, 24, of Taumalipas, Mexico, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to 21 months in federal prison.

Patty Cordoba, 42, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, and seven others were arrested and each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining payment after filing false claims for tax refunds, and at least one count of mail fraud.

Approximately 55 representatives from the State of Mexico and the Mexican Federal Police participated in the seminar, the first ever state-level training of its kind. The Instituto Mexiquense de Seguridad y Justicia and the Comisión de Seguridad Estatal del Gobierno del Estado de México assisted with hosting the seminar.

Arturo Rojas Coyotl, 28, of Tenancingo, Mexico, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $600 special assessment. Odilon Martinez Rojas, 43, of Tenancingo, Mexico, has been sentenced to 21 years, ten months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $600 special assessment. Each defendant was ordered to pay restitution in amount of $190,000, which will be divided between three victims.

Over 5,000 looted artifacts valued at more than $50 million Euros were illicitly traded by Gianfranco Becchina, an Italian national and one of Italy’s most prolific traffickers of illicit cultural property. HSI became involved in one of the Becchina investigations after receiving a lead from Carabinieri TPC regarding looted objects being offered for sale by a New York auction house.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered James Thomas Lifsey, 59, of Warne, N.C. to serve under court supervision the rest of his life upon release from prison and to register as a sex offender. Lifsey was also ordered to pay $46,057 as restitution to the victims.

Human trafficking victims are not specific to age, race, nationality or gender, although most sex-trafficking victims are women. By definition, human trafficking victims become modern-day slaves through force, fraud or coercion. Those targeted by traffickers are often perceived as vulnerable. Undocumented migrants, runaways and at-risk youth, and oppressed or marginalized groups are among the high-risk population of human trafficking victims.

Erik Leroy Clark, 35, of Joplin, Missouri, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison without parole.

Jason Paul Roberts, 38, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2013 to one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. Roberts will be required to register as a sex offender. He has been in custody since his arrest in September 2012 on a related federal indictment.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Reymundo Alejandro Sanchez, 21, of Abilene, Texas, used his cell phone to communicate with several people using a mobile application called Kik, as well as through Facebook and other means.

Darrin Evan Malley, 36, of Kalispell, Montana, was ordered to serve 120 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. Malley pleaded guilty to the charges in October.