News Releases and Statements

On Monday, Jorge Valadez, 53, a Laredo high school teacher, was charged by U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia with receiving and distributing child pornography via the Internet.

Richard J. Simone, 23, of Acworth, Ga., faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for traveling to have sexual contact with a minor. He faces between five and 20 years and a $250,000 fine for distributing child pornography.

The indictment follows an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Prince George's and Montgomery police departments as well as the Prince George's and Montgomery state attorney's offices.

Stephen Lewis, 21, of Oceanside, Calif., was taken into custody Saturday by Morgan Hill Police detectives and HSI special agents.

Alexis Estevez-Alvarez, 45, of Havana, Cuba, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to 110 and 20 months, respectively, for the drug and failure-to-appear convictions; these sentences are to be served consecutively for a total sentence of 130 months in federal prison.

According to the complaint, since June 2012, members of the organization used a source of supply located in China to obtain significant quantities of Methylone, as well as several other synthetic substances. Methylone is a stimulant ... known commonly as MDMA or ecstasy.

The production of 'Too Close To Home,' continues a long tradition of WEDU programs that address important issues facing our community.

The arrests follow a four-month investigation that targeted drug smuggling and street drug distribution rings operating in Ajo, and was conducted under the auspices of the Border Alliance Narcotics Network, a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiative.

Carlos Humberto Castaneda-Mendoza, 40, entered the U.S. illegally in August 2010. In November 2010, Interpol issued a red notice for the warrant in El Salvador.

Jacob Ray Albarado, 20, of Big Spring, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in March on a federal indictment alleging he possessed and produced child pornography, and attempted to entice a child. According to documents filed in the case, after befriending a girl (Jane Doe), Albarado called her with his cell phone for more than a year. In late 2012, Jane Doe began a dating relationship with Albarado and ran away from her home to his apartment in Big Spring.

According to court documents, Marco Laquin Rogers, 27, of Atlanta, traveled to a Jackson hotel in May 2012 to have sex with the child and videotape the act.

According to the plea agreement, on Jan. 31, Charles Allen Nave III, 39, knowingly distributed child pornography over the Internet to an undercover agent he met in an online chat room.

If convicted, Eleftherios 'Ted' Zachariadis, 46, of Lake Alfred, faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Miguel Angel Gutierrez-Carranza, who is a convicted felon and is wanted in Mexico for murder, was indicted Tuesday in the Eastern District of Oklahoma for illegally re-entering the United States after being previously deported.

Mark Robert Austin was arrested Friday afternoon without incident by HSI and FBI special agents along with officers from the Michigan State Police in the Flint, Mich., area after numerous tips from the public were called in to the ICE tip line. Following the national and regional publicity generated by the app’s announcement, several members of the public called in tips indicating known areas Austin frequented.

Robert W. Scogin, 52, and Peggy S. Scogin, 55, both of Shreveport, admitted in their guilty pleas they purchased approximately 9,000 pills of Schedule II, III and IV narcotics in Belize to include codeine and dihydrocodeine

"John Doe" was profiled on a new app launched by ICE Thursday. The unidentified man is featured at the top of the list of suspected child predators wanted by HSI.

Charles Glenn Perkins came to the attention of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after being turned around at the U.S.-Canada border last December when a review of his laptop at that time by Canadian authorities revealed two images of nude children.

Victor Berrelleza-Verduzco, 24, pleaded guilty in April to multiple conspiracy counts related to distribution of controlled substances, money laundering, robbery and possession of firearms.

Long Van Nguyen, 45, of University Place, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kill persons in a foreign country and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.

The HSI investigation revealed that Robert Lee Raeder, 45, of Tamaqua, produced child pornography videos and images and then maintained them on his computer.

New Jersey man pleads guilty to role in identity theft ring, tax evasion

Sean Lawrence, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., was previously convicted in Missouri in 1995 and 2005 of sodomizing two young boys. He was sentenced to five years in prison for each offense and was required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Martin Paul Bean, III, 63, of Boca Raton, Fla., was ordered to serve 24 months in federal custody after pleading guilty in February to conspiracy to commit a number of federal offenses, including wire fraud, mail fraud, selling unapproved drugs, selling misbranded drugs and importing merchandise contrary to law.

ICE's HSI is launching a new smartphone app – the first of its kind in U.S. federal law enforcement – designed to seek the public's help with fugitive and unknown suspect child predators.