News Releases and Statements

ICE Director Sarah Saldaña and Manuel Castro Castillo, major general of the National Police of the Dominican Republic, signed the Criminal History Information Sharing (CHIS) memorandum at ICE’s headquarters Wednesday. Deputy Assistant Secretary Luis E. Arreaga of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also attended the ceremony.

Mario Manzur Reyes, 31, of Tampa, was sentenced to five years and ten months in federal prison and Santos Rene Herrera-Cruz, 50, of Tampa was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.

According to court documents, Brian John McRee, 51, of Jacksonville, attempted to entice a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity. Unbeknownst to him, the “girl” was a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity.

Special agents with the HSI Miami dive team provided the training, the first of its kind in Colombia. The training focused on techniques to help law enforcement identify contraband concealed in the hulls of cargo ships and in parasitic devices. The students were also taught evidence and cadaver recovery.

Gamaliel Cortez-Mendoza, 43, an illegal alien residing in Laredo was arrested Thursday following an investigation by the Laredo Child Exploitation Task Force led by HSI and the Webb County Sheriff's Office Cyber Crime Unit with assistance from Laredo Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Marshals Service.

At a news conference Friday, representatives from the three agencies detailed the results of three intellectual property theft cases, including two involving HSI. The seized goods included counterfeit NFL-branded sportswear, designer clothing, videos, smartphones and even electronic audio products worth over $800,000.

Belluardo was honored for tracking down a hit-and-run driver that fled from New Jersey to Annapolis, Maryland. The hit-and-run accident, which occurred on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, resulted in the death of Michael Viruet and serious injuries to his brother, Adrian Viruet.

According to the plea agreement, in April 2013, Nicholas Mitko Clark, 22, of Yulee, used an instant messaging service to chat with an individual in Canada, with whom he exchanged child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, between July 2012 and March 2014, Benjamin Cuadrado, 40, of Lakeland, coerced an infant and a toddler to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing multiple videos of the conduct.

Rateb Said Najjar, 60, and his son, Eyad Rateb Najjar, 36, both of Westminster, are each charged with 134 felony counts of money laundering; six felony counts of manufacturing and sale of a counterfeit mark; two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime with sentencing enhancements for property damage over $1.3 million; and money laundering in excess of $2.5 million.

Jamie Harmon, aka Jamie Harley, 57, of Morgan Hill, was convicted in 2010 of five counts of laundering monetary instruments following a three-week trial.

Brian P. Davis, 50, of Dundalk, was also ordered to serve a lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. following his prison sentence and register as a sex offender.

Jorge Estrada -Tepal, 37, and Ricardo Estrada -Tepal, 33, of Queens, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking involving forces, fraud, and coercion. Victor Leonel Estrada -Tepal, 29, of Queens, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.

HSI special agents arrested Marcellus Overton, 39, after he was charged federally with sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The charges carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

During the six-week sting operation, authorities placed targeted ads for sexual services in an online publication known to promote prostitution-related activities. When the defendants called the telephone numbers listed, it was made clear that the services were being offered by underage girls. Arrangements were then made for the men to meet the girls at an Aurora hotel. They were taken into custody when they arrived.

Ray Carl Short, 66, admitted in a plea agreement to hiding a video camera in the bedroom of a minor to capture images of the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct. An undercover investigation by HSI special agents in Wilmington, Delaware, uncovered Short’s interest in online child pornography.

Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez, 23, of Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Saenz-Tamez entered his guilty plea Jan. 13 before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

With a little help from her friends and co-workers, Ms. Gahan organized a New Year’s Eve dinner and party for the residents at the Ronald McDonald House.

Marco Antonio Gutierrez, 36, of Grants Pass, received a 14-year federal prison sentence, and his brother, Samuel De La Cruz Gutierrez, 43, also of Grants Pass, was sentenced to 10 years.

Humberto Fierro-Rascon, 41, currently serving time at a federal prison in Florence, Colorado, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana following a three-day trial in in Madison. The jury reached its verdict Wednesday after deliberating for five hours.

Armando Palacios-Avalos, 34, aka Castro-Urbina and Edwin Eduardo, was flown to El Salvador Jan. 14 onboard a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Upon arrival, Palacios-Avalos was turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

According to court documents, Jaime Gerardo Serrano-Villegas, 28, assisted others with moving a boat filled with Mexican nationals across the Rio Grande River, towards Rio Bravo, Texas.

John F. Crawford IV, 48, trafficked in various counterfeit National Football League, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball logo apparel. In October 2012, HSI Pittsburgh was tipped off that Crawford’s gift shop in Breezewood, Pennsylvania, was selling counterfeit Pittsburgh Steelers trademarked merchandise, including the NFL team jerseys.

Yakov Meir Chazanow, 41, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi to serve 21 months in prison for conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement, manufacturing counterfeit goods and to trafficking in goods bearing counterfeit Dolby trademarks and counterfeit labels.

Peter Eric Kirkeby, 26, of Barrie, Canada, is also charged with using telecommunication devices to commit the offense of sexual assault and creating child pornography, as well as soliciting a person to have illicit sexual intercourse.