News Releases and Statements

Walter Brown, a former customer service representative at the Osceola County Tax Collector's Office, was indicted Wednesday on one count of conspiracy to knowingly and without lawful authority produce identification documents and nine counts of aggravated identity theft.

William Rensing, a New Jersey man with a prior conviction of sexual assault of a minor, was sentenced May 23 to 210 months in prison for distributing videos of child sexual abuse over the Internet.

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to the murder of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent and the attempted murder of another HSI special agent in Mexico.

Freddy Mauricio Tellez-Buitrago and Adriana Gonzalez-Marquez, both Colombian nationals, face obstruction of justice charges for stealing sensitive and confidential U.S. law enforcement information concerning prosecutions in the Eastern District of New York and selling that information to a narcotics trafficker.

Edwin Galvez-Berganza, a Guatemalan man residing in Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for the distribution of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine.

Rigel Colon-Cruzado, 54, of Bayamon, who is a physical education teacher in a public housing project in San Juan, was arrested at his place of residence Monday after an HSI investigation revealed that he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with one of his seventh grade students, a 12-year-old female.

Patrick T. Deck was charged May 22 with possession of child pornography following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Sanderlei Alves DaCruz, a manager and supervisor of an international scheme responsible for smuggling into the United States hundreds of illegal aliens from Brazil, India, and elsewhere from January 2008 through June 2011, was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in prison.

A federal grand jury has indicted immigration attorney Kiran Dewan and four of his clients in connection with a conspiracy to bribe an immigration official in order to obtain lawful permanent residence, employment authorization documents and green cards.

According to court documents, Emmanuel Nwankwo, 54, began yelling and physically resisted ICE officers.

Three Mexican citizens are in federal custody on sex trafficking charges in Atlanta following a joint investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.

HSI special agents were first alerted to the case Sunday evening after local law enforcement agencies requested federal assistance.

Both men pleaded guilty Dec. 27.

"Jose Armando Bran, aka ""Pantro,"" was convicted yesterday by a federal jury on murder and maiming in aid of racketeering, among other charges, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington office, FBI Richmond field office and the Richmond Police Department. "

David Olmsted pleaded guilty to evading reporting requirements for foreign currency transactions and will forfeit assets and currency worth at least $1.2 million, including about 449,000,000 Iraqi dinars (valued at $404,000).

A southwestern Missouri man, Rodney Russell, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to receiving and distributing child pornography.

At a ceremony today at the Bulgarian Consulate in New York, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) returned 546 ancient coins to Bulgarian Ambassador Elena Poptodorova.

Each spring, the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) rolls into Tampa, Fla. Representatives from a variety of companies, ranging from those that manufacture sensitive military technologies to suppliers of tactical gear, peddle their wares for conference attendees.

"Rosemary Fierros, a Fresno-area woman convicted of serving as the ""recruiter "" in a far-reaching scheme to sell California driver's licenses to ineligible individuals was sentenced Monday to four years in prison, following a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)."

Vitality Yaremkiv, of Vancouver, Wash., sold more than 900 illegally imported counterfeit air bags between June 2011 and June 2012, earning nearly $140,000.

Two men from India and Brazil were each sentenced Friday to serve 36 months in federal prison for their roles in smuggling illegal aliens into the United States for private financial gain.

A woman from Mexico, Yessica Chanel Cabanillas-Torres, was sentenced Friday to 36 months in federal prison after she was convicted for smuggling nearly two kilograms of heroin in her luggage as she arrived from Ecuador at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents seized 125 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately $3 million on Wednesday at a residence in Villa Rica, Bayamon.

Richard A. Lewis, 49, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., was indicted by a federal grand jury with committing the offense. The HSI investigation revealed that Lewis used a computer between January and May 2013 to receive and distribute child pornography.

A Camden County man, Alexander D. Vargas, was charged May 16 with stealing more than $1 million in food stamp benefits. These charges are the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation.