News Releases and Statements

Federal officials Monday announced the indictment of six defendants for their alleged role in a multi-state prostitution ring that recruited women from Asia to serve as sex workers and then required them to pay off as much as $60,000 in smuggling debts.

Shawn E. Stevens, 26, of Corsica, S.D., was sentenced March 4 to 188 months in federal prison and five years supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Joseph Hicks, who was convicted of distributing child pornography, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison. HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at the Hicks' Rochester residence and seized his computer which contained nearly 15,000 images and more than 400 movies depicting child pornography.

Walter Arthur Mosher Jr. was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography as the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Susan Lee Gross, the owner of an Annandale massage parlor used as a front for prostitution, was sentenced to 30 months in prison Friday.

Special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working together with other federal and local law enforcement partners, arrested 31 people Thursday for drug trafficking and possession of illegal firearms.

Christopher Andre Devine was sentenced Friday to 121 months in prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to use the personal identifying information of individuals to open bank accounts and fraudulently obtain cash, merchandise and services.

A Bahamian man, Rohan Spicer, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to smuggle approximately $1.2 million to the Bahamas.

Following a three-day trial, a federal jury in Fresno found the sister of a former employee of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) guilty of 31 criminal counts for her role in a far-reaching scheme to sell official California driver's licenses to ineligible individuals.

Hector Ayala, 49, former owner of Uniforms of Texas, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term, and to perform 200 hours of community service.

Sixteen federal, state and local Rhode Island law enforcement agents and officers - including a special agent with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - were recognized today with a top Department of Justice award for their achievements significantly impacting the trafficking of heroin along the 'Heroin Highway.'

The indictment charges Marco Antonio Delgado, 46, aka Marco Delgado Licon, with two wire fraud counts and 15 money laundering counts.

Lewey Martinez was sentenced Thursday to nine years and seven months in federal prison for his role in an alien smuggling and harboring scheme that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old Mexican national in September 2011.

Seven local residents were indicted as a result of the efforts of a multi-agency investigation into intellectual property rights violations.

Anthony J. Torresi of Coral Gables, Fla., listed night vision goggles and night vision monoculars for sale on eBay.

A Michigan resident was found guilty by a federal jury Thursday in Miami of child sex tourism charges following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A Colombian national, Jose Rivas, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

This week on ABC's NIGHTLINE, correspondent Alexander Marquardt joined HSI Special Agent (and Deputy Attache) Eric McLoughlin, as the staff of HSI Manila partners with a non-governmental organization and law enforcement officials in the Philippines to track down and arrest a child predator.

Authorities arrested 21 suspects Tuesday following a multi-agency 'storefront' sting by the Auto Crimes Enforcement (ACE) Task Force, which includes special agents from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A member of the notorious Gulf Cartel was sentenced to five years in federal prison Wednesday following his conviction for being an alien possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney, Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

Jose Salvador Lopez-Guardado, an El Salvador man wanted for homicide in his home country, was deported and turned over to El Salvador officials Thursday by officers with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

A local business is the first South Dakota member of a nationwide program by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure a legal and more secure work force.

Shuja Ali Syed trafficked in counterfeit "all-natural" male enhancement products from China, when, in fact, laboratory analyses of the counterfeit products indicated that they contained either sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, or tadalafil, commonly known as Cialis.

Santos Javier Guevara-Oliva, an El Salvadoran national residing in Hyattsville, Md., wanted in Santa Barbara, Calif., for aggravated sexual assault on a child under 14 years of age and forcible rape, was arrested Monday by officers from ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Two new industry partners have joined the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), an international alliance of law enforcement and private sector agencies dedicated to combating online child sexual abuse.