News Releases and Statements

Laura Sigler was sentenced Monday to nearly 22 years in federal prison for producing child pornography with a 5-year-old child in November 2011 for rent money.

Ovidiu Isac, a Romanian citizen who lived in Skokie, Ill., oversaw and directed nearly two dozen co-defendants in the United States who used their bank accounts to receive fraudulent federal income tax refunds from overseas co-conspirators.

Jose Hernandez-Velazquez, a Los-Angeles-area man who owned rental property in Delano, Calif., was sentenced Monday to 60 years in federal prison. Between January 2010 and February 2011, Hernandez-Velazquez produced videos and images showing himself engaged in sexual acts with four minor victims aged 3 to 14.

Javier Torres Felix, a Mexican drug lord who was responsible for multi-ton shipments of cocaine to associates in the United States, and was also wanted for a murder in his home country, was deported April 11 by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Carl Labadie, a Colorado resident who once lived in Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced Thursday to four years in federal prison for his child pornography conviction.

Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation's annual commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust.

Courtney Cal Gardenier, 25, from Scottsdale, Ariz., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.

Two men were arrested Wednesday on state charges of felony murder, human smuggling, and engaging in organized criminal activity. On Jan. 20, 2012, a group of illegal aliens were hiding inside an air dam compartment of a tractor when one of the females fell from the moving vehicle that was traveling on Interstate Highway 35 in Kyle, Texas.

Four Mexican nationals were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a large human smuggling case that resulted in the discovery of more than 80 illegal aliens in a Houston residence.

Booker T. Vanderhorst of Charleston, S.C., made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday after he was arrested by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on child sex trafficking charges. Between July and October 2012, Vanderhorst prostituted a minor female he knew to be under the age of 18.

Pablo Toro-Matos, of Yauco, was arrested by HSI special agents after they learned from the Puerto Rico Police Department's Sexual Crimes Division that Toro-Matos allegedly used his vehicle to transport an 11-year-old girl to a motel where he sexually assaulted her.

Patrick Mergen of Sewell, N.J., was sentenced to 25 years in prison for manufacturing child pornography and an additional 10 years on the possession of child pornography charge, both to run concurrently.

Earl Seth David ran a scheme in which he and his co-conspirators applied for legal status for tens of thousands of illegal aliens based on phony claims that they had been sponsored for employment by U.S. employers.

Nicolas Gomez-Rua of Atlantic City, N.J., and Medellin, Colombia, admitted his role in aiding and assisting the preparation of false income tax returns, illegal use of Social Security numbers and unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship.

A suburban Twin Cities man, Napoleon Long, was indicted in federal court Wednesday for transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of prostitution in October 2011.

The head of College Prep Academy in Duluth and other school officials have been indicted on charges of conspiring to bring illegal aliens into the country and issuing them fraudulent immigration documents following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized more than $636,000 Tuesday after intercepting a vehicle on I-10 near Mobile en route from Atlanta to Laredo, Texas connected to a federal money laundering investigation.

A former National Football League player, Samuel George Hurd III, 27, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a superseding indictment charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Javier Guerrero committed racketeering offenses, murdered two men, and assaulted a detention guard.

Thirty-four individuals and 23 entities have been indicted and accused of operating an illegal sports bookmaking business, known since 2003 as Legendz Sports, that solicited more than $1 billion in illegal bets.

A jury found Thomas Monroe Lee guilty Wednesday of using the Internet to try to persuade, induce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. On June 14, law enforcement officers posed as a 14-year-old boy and responded to an advertisement that appeared in the Casual Encounters section of the Panama City Beach/Laguna Beach Craigslist page.

In addition to his prison term, Ferrer was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.

Neri Cristobal Rodriguez-Reina, 31, was turned over to Mexican federal police by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations.

The owner of Little Lake Driving Academy in Aurora, Colo., and the driving academy's clerk, were arraigned in U.S. District Court Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, Social Security fraud and bribery.

Michael Brandan Griffith pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing child pornography.