News Releases and Statements

According to the charges and other information presented in court, Dong Seok Yi was the president and CEO of an English language school named College Prep Academy (CPA). He also owns the Korean Times Atlanta, a newspaper company. In 2009, Yi filed an application with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), and obtained approval for CPA to enroll foreign-born students and issue I-20 forms, which enable students to stay in the United States. Foreign-born students who are issued I-20s from universities and other institutions of higher education can get F-1 student visas permitting them to remain in the United States during the time of their schooling.

Marcos Soto-Mendoza, 43, of Tonalisco, Nayarit, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson. Following the prison term, Soto-Mendoza will be subject to three years of supervised release. He was convicted by a federal jury April 12 on five counts of bringing in an illegal alien for profit.

Kevin "Peter" Wang, 54, coordinated the illegal importation of 11 shipping containers of counterfeit apparel, according to court documents. From 2008 to 2012, the counterfeit goods were smuggled in shipping containers through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The containers, which were purposely mislabeled as toilet paper and garment hangers in order to evade detection by U.S. customs officials, included included fake Nike shoes; Coach, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton handbags; and NFL, NBA, and NHL jerseys.

James Enowitch, 48, of Cromwell, Conn., pleaded guilty to selling $5 million worth of fake degrees throughout the world from 2003 and 2012. He profited more than $700,000 from this fraudulent scheme.

The International Taskforce Agent Training class, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), provides vetted foreign law enforcement officers with training very similar to that of the agency's special agents. The students, including 12 Honduras National Police officers, 12 Panama National Police officers, two prosecutors from Honduras and one prosecutor from Panama, began their training April 22.

Zdenko Jakiša, 45, of Forest Lake, Minn., was arrested Wednesday on immigration fraud charges for failing to disclose his military service and the multiple crimes he committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the armed conflict there in the 1990s.

In an ongoing effort targeting every level of the dangerous global synthetic designer drug market, law enforcement in 29 states served nearly 200 search warrants culminating a nationwide enforcement operation on drug trafficking organizations operating throughout the country. The operation, which began in January, is called Project Synergy II.

Haoren Ma, 50, of San Gabriel, Calif., the owner of New Arrival Immigration Service, was sentenced April 28 to four-and-a-half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, immigration document fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ma's employee, Minghan Dong, 49, of San Gabriel, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day in prison for conspiracy to commit immigration document fraud.

Merlin Marilu Umanzor-Melendez, 27, departed San Antonio Tuesday onboard an ICE Air Operations Unit charter flight. Upon arrival in El Salvador, ERO officers turned her over to officials from the El Salvadoran Civilian National Police (PNC).

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), released "SEVIS by the Numbers," a quarterly report of international students studying in the United States, Wednesday. The report is based on data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information on international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.

At a May 7 ceremony in New York, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York were commemorated by the Kingdom of Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An and other representative from the Cambodian government for the return of the Duryodhana, a 10th century sandstone sculpture. Cambodian and U.S. officials were joined at the ceremony was by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and L'École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO).

Clayton L. Lakey, 34, of Billings, Montana, pleaded guilty to a charge of coercing and enticing a minor, and was sentenced May 7 to serve five years in federal prison.

Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, of Rockville, was also found guilty of illegal importing, receiving and delivering non-FDA approved drugs and devices, and engaging in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. In all, Sarraf was convicted of nine felonies and four associated misdemeanors. Eva Montejo Pritchard, 48, also of Rockville, who was the clinic office manager, was convicted of a single felony count for conspiracy.

Albert Rose, 55, of Lafayette, previously pleaded guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court. As part of his guilty plea, Rose admitted distributing images of child pornography via email using a computer located in his residence in February 2010.

Jason Thomas Dreyer, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to 60 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Gonzales Ramos also ordered Dreyer to follow these requirements:

Sylvester Joseph, 26, of Deerfield, Florida, identified as a leader, was sentenced by U.S. District Senior Judge William Caldwell for his role in a car break-in and bank fraud crew that stole more than a million dollars in the five years it was in operation. Testimony presented at previous sentencing proceedings showed that the crew stole millions of dollars from banks using stolen checks and identification. Although they were only caught in 2012, the crew was implicated in committing this scheme for more than five years and victimizing more than 250 people in the course of the fraud scheme, dubbed the "Felony Lane Gang."

These deportations were conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Chicago. Armando Ramirez-Vazquez, 32, and Jesus Gloria-Arreaga, 47, were removed to Mexico May 2 via government charter flight from Chicago and turned over to the custody of the Mexican Attorney General's Office. Ramirez-Vazquez is wanted in Mexico for homicide and robbery based on a warrant issued in the Mexican state of Michoacán in 2000.

Laiton Blake Witkowski, of Stockton, Maryland, had his initial appearance May 5 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Witkowski faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of production of child pornography; a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for distribution of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the four counts of possession of child pornography.

Husband and wife owners of an online clothing business, Hoang Minh Nguyen and Dung Hang Dao, both 32, falsified import documents to avoid paying customs duties, according to court records. An investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Central California Financial Crimes Task Force uncovered the customs fraud and revealed a money laundering scheme.

According to court documents, between November 28, 2012 and January 24, 2013, David Thomas Hume, 37, distributed more than 600 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images also depicted prepubescent minors involved in sadism, masochism and acts of violence.

HSI special agents arrested Edwin Maldonado-Burgos, 57, of Orocovis, after an investigation that stemmed from a referral from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice revealed that he transported a then 18-year-old mentally-disabled female, identified in the criminal complaint as Jane Doe, in order to engage in criminal sexual conduct.

Marcus Gabriel Henderson, 34, pleaded guilty in January to attempted production of child pornography and transportation of child pornography. Court records state Henderson came to the attention of law enforcement through an undercover child pornography investigation.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending May 2, 2014

Jesus Rios, 47, from Uvalde, was sentenced April 30 to 188 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Alia Moses also ordered Rios to serve five years of supervised release. Rios pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 5, 2013.