News Releases and Statements

Ernesto Salgado-Guzman was part of a scheme to purchase more than 400 guns in Madera, and sell them to various individuals in Oaxaca, Mexico. During the probe, 85 of the firearms were seized - 54 in Mexico and 31 in Madera.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, in May 2010, Dwight L. Looney, 62, from Fort Worth, knowingly used, persuaded and enticed 'Jane Doe' to engage in sexually explicit conduct; Looney used a digital camera to take a still image of that conduct.

Travis Humphrey, aka GT, 26, and Kyoni Humphrey, aka Kyoni Nieves, 24, allegedly conspired to force a minor female to engage in prostitution and illegal sexual activity between May 15 and June 3.

David H. Scanlan III, 38, is charged with distributing child pornography over the Internet between May and June 2011. He has surrendered his medical license.

Julio and Manuel Leija-Sanchez, who operated a lucrative, black-market counterfeit identification document business in Chicago's Little Village community for at least 15 years, each received the mandatory life sentence Feb. 7.

Jae Hee Yang, 58, formerly known as Jae Hee Yang Kim, must also forfeit $100,000 and perform 150 hours of community service.

Hassan Rafiee and Idin Rafiee, both of San Diego, and Majid Nouri, of Katy, Texas, were arraigned on an indictment unsealed in district court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The New York Border Enforcement Task Force (BEST), working jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seized 109 kilograms of cocaine Jan. 5 during a routine inspection of a cargo container at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island.

Benjamin Payne was sentenced Thursday to two years and six months in federal prison following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He admitted possessing and storing a loaded revolver with a destroyed serial number in his car. Payne has two previous felony firearm convictions and multiple burglary convictions.

James Leland Copeland was a wanted person from Tennessee for failing to register as a sex offender. Marshals Service officials determined Copeland was living in Hallettsville and had failed to register within the state of Texas.

Many of the search locations were homes where drugs and guns had been stored or sold, including an apartment across the street from Hoover High School. Among the guns recovered during the probe, dubbed Crystal Palace II, were numerous assault rifles; AR-15 semi-automatic rifles; and at least two AK-47s.

Michael J. Carroll, a Connecticut computer technician who claimed hackers were responsible for sexually explicit images of minors linked to him, was convicted Thursday by an Alaska federal jury of advertising child pornography and two counts of distribution of child pornography.

Shortly before his death in 1768, Seekatz created the painting. In December 1879, the National Museum in Warsaw received the painting from the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. In 1909, the Warsaw museum had the painting erroneously identified and listed as "St. Phillip Baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch" by Dutch painter J.C. Saft.

Alexandre Astakhov, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced May 13. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison.

Marius Dragos Stanga, a Romanian national wanted on human trafficking and prostitution charges in his home country, was removed from the United States Tuesday by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

With the Department of Defense as one of their primary clients, two Tampa-based consulting companies realized the importance of protecting the security of our nation. That's why Visual Awareness Technologies and Consulting Inc. and EKS Group LLC have become the latest employers to be certified by ICE's employment compliance program called IMAGE.

Christopher Gary Carlson, 40, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in November 2013. According to court records, Wenatchee police received several reports last April of an individual using the username "warlock666" trading images of child sex abuse over the Internet.

Kenneth Robert McVicker III, a former Maryland resident who moved to Ecuador where he sexually abused young boys and produced child pornography, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in federal prison.

Fake jerseys, ball caps, t-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs are among the counterfeit merchandise and clothing confiscated by teams of special agents and officers from ICE's HSI, CBP, USPIS and state and local police departments around the country - all in partnership with the NFL and other major sports leagues.

An Antelope Valley landscaper, Robert Dale Schrader, is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday following his arrest on federal child pornography charges for allegedly generating sexually explicit images of a 3-month-old infant and emailing them to an undercover investigator in England.

Jose Aguilar-Lucas was turned over to Mexican federal police at the Nogales port of entry Friday by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Jose Samir Renteria-Cuero, aka Jose Morfi, 51, faces between 10 years and life in prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

A New Mexico fast-food chain, Blake's Lotaburger, joined ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Friday in a nationwide program that helps employers strengthen hiring practices, and prevents the unlawful employment of unauthorized workers.

Petr Murmylyuk, a Russian national living in New York, was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison for conspiring with others to hack into retail brokerage accounts and execute sham trades, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Murmylyuk was also ordered pay more than $505,000 in restitution.