News Releases and Statements

Brandon Gillreath was sentenced to 35 years in prison. His wife Corine Motley, who was identified and arrested after ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched a campaign asking for the public's assistance, was sentenced to 29.5 years in prison.

Milos Mihajlovic, a Serbian man wanted for being the alleged getaway driver in a murder and attempted murder investigation, was deported from the United States Monday.

Ricardo Cantu Jr., 32, of Hidalgo, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa who sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Judge Hinojosa took into consideration that the defendant repeatedly changed his story, which resulted in the sentence ultimately imposed Monday.

Two indictments were unsealed Monday charging eight men and one woman from Long Island with conspiring to commit wire fraud, stealing identities and concealing and harboring illegal aliens employed at 7-11 Inc. franchise stores located throughout Long Island and Virginia.

Five individuals who possessed or distributed child pornography were charged and arrested during a month-long investigation in five Ocean County communities.

James Brown, 50, pleaded guilty in March following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the FBI. Brown admitted possessing more than 600 images of child pornography on his laptop.

From approximately March through November 2011, Lance Howard Mayes received and distributed more than 600 sexually explicit depictions of minors, many of which involved pre-pubescent victims and at least one of which involved sadomasochistic conduct.

The two have been in custody since their arrest Jan. 17

A letter written by famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was one of eight documents returned to the Russian Federation during a repatriation ceremony Thursday by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the Spaso House, a neoclassical style mansion and residence of every U.S. ambassador to Russia since 1933, in Moscow, June 13.

Victor Lopez, 47, of San Angelo, Texas, has been in federal custody since his arrest after HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at his residence Jan. 23.

Carlos Ugarte, 31, was arrested at his place of residence after a search of his home computer revealed hundreds of child pornography images of prepubescent female minors.

Jeffrey Steven Telsey was sentenced Thursday for his role in a scheme to traffic counterfeit razor blades to a Michigan retailer. In January 2008, HSI special agents learned that counterfeit Gillette Mach3 razor refills were being distributed through Meijer Stores. Meijer Stores purchased the razors from JCA Enterprises, which was owned by Telsey.

Richard McNeal of Randallstown, Md., pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to felony charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods. He sold thousands of dollars worth of fraudulent tickets to Super Bowl XVII in February 2013 and the Allstate BCS National Championship in January 2012.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and/or a $250,000 criminal fine.

Jennifer Ellen Marie Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen residing in Reynosa, Mexico, was sentenced Friday to 188 months in prison for trafficking more than 10 kilograms (22 lbs.) of methamphetamine after an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) officers, arrested Jalmar Diaz-Melendez, a man allegedly associated with a drug trafficking organization operating in the Las Piedras-Juncos area, on Wednesday.

"Ryan Breen pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking in counterfeit goods involving the sale of unauthorized merchandise from the popular FX Network television series ""Sons of Anarchy."" The plea follows an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). "

The indictment alleges that as a result of the conspiracy, lenders provided more than $3.5 million for fraudulently obtained loans.

Javier Martinez, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic living in Alaska, was convicted Thursday by a federal jury of firearms violations, immigration benefit fraud and identity theft. Martinez came to the attention of federal investigators after he allegedly shot and killed his former supervisor at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel.

Patrick Regan was sentenced to 101 months in prison for smuggling more than 300 firearms to organizations in Colombia that take over and control areas of the country by killing law abiding citizens and legitimate police officers.

Federal officials and representatives from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington announced the seizure of a long-lost diary kept by a close confidant of Adolph Hitler.

Jason Jordan, a 34-year-old Washington state man who sold counterfeit air bags over the Internet, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. Jordan admitted in a plea agreement that from at least July 2010 to August 2012, he imported counterfeit Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota air bags from sources in China.

Daniel Ricardo Barrientos had communicated via email, text and telephone conversations with an undercover officer who portrayed herself as a single mother of two minor daughters who was interested in having her children engage in sexual acts with an adult. Barrientos responded with his desire to perform various sexual acts with the girls.

Federico Mendez-Hernandez, 28, was last apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol May 9 on the Rio Grande River near Hidalgo and transferred to ICE custody three days later. On May 18, Mendez-Hernandez was transported to the Christus Spohn Hospital Kleberg in Kingsville after he reported symptoms compatible with rabies, which included anxiety, vomiting, trouble swallowing, shortness of breath and rapid heart rate.

Austin J. Correll, 32, of Johnstown, Pa., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson. Correll pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 24.