News Releases and Statements

Phillip Edward Baker, 50, was sentenced to 135 and 120 months for the receipt and possession convictions, respectively. In addition, following a one-day bench trial Sept. 20, U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa sentenced Baker to 120 months in prison for accessing a child pornography website.

Garvin Cadogan, a Trinidad and Tobago man living in El Paso under an assumed identity, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. A forensics analysis of Cadogan's seized computer revealed the presence of more than 200 child pornography videos.

As part of U.S. ICE's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 90 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested last week during Operation Bear III throughout central and south Texas.

Nghia Nguyen, a Vietnamese citizen residing in Santa Ana, Calif., was sentenced today by to six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for mail fraud.

The two defendants have been in custody since their arrest Dec. 4.

Gattis faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted on the charge of distribution resulting in death.

Agustin Rodriguez-Rodriguez was sentenced Friday to 90 years in prison for possession and production of child pornography. The investigation that led to this sentence was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Michael Ferguson, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May and pleaded guilty in September. According to court documents, Ferguson admitted he was in possession of 10 images and two videos of child sexual exploitation when HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his residence.

Johnny Soza of Stafford, Va., was sentenced to 120 months in prison for enticing a 15-year-old girl in Canada to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

Yimmy Pineda-Penado, aka Critico, 22, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga today to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a gang-run juvenile prostitution ring.

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 18 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested this week during a five day operation in Missouri.

Nicolette Loisel was sentenced Friday to 12 months and one day in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud by stealing the identities of dormant, publicly-traded companies. This case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa and the U.S. Secret Service's Tampa and Newark, N.J., field offices.

Over the last three days, federal authorities at a Los Angeles International Airport express cargo consignment facility interdicted more than a hundred shipments containing suspected counterfeit goods in stepped-up enforcement actions as part of Operation Holiday Hoax.

Over the last three days, federal authorities at a Bay Area mail processing facility interdicted more than 300 parcels containing suspected counterfeit goods in stepped-up enforcement actions as part of Operation Holiday Hoax, an international effort targeting the sale and importation of counterfeit and pirated products.

Two complaints were filed Thursday charging two Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) deputies and two Mission Police Department (MPD) officers with a drug trafficking conspiracy.

A federal grand jury Wednesday returned a guilty verdict against a local resident on cocaine trafficking and immigration charges after a two day trial. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, man, Jose David Rivera-Torres, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison for possession of several hundred images of child pornography, some of which contained bestiality and bondage of minors.

Seven local government employees - six in Kansas City, Mo., and one in Jackson County, Mo. - were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in a scheme in which hundreds of public employees allegedly defrauded their health insurance provider.

A Korean national residing in the Los Angeles area, who was wanted in his native country for large-scale financial fraud, was turned over to South Korean law enforcement representatives at the airport in Seoul Thursday by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Ismael Vazquez-Larrauri, 39, of Cayey, Puerto Rico, was found guilty June 15 of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana within public housing projects and schools.

Representatives from the 18 Virtual Global Taskforce member agencies attend discussions on the strategic direction for the VGT at the VGT Conference in Abu Dhabi. HSI's Ian Quinn is the newly appointed chair of the VGT.

A federal grand jury issued a multi-count indictment against a Romanian man as part of an Internet fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The indictment charges a Romanian man - who is residing in Orangevale, Calif., while visiting on a visa - with seven counts of wire fraud.

Special agents with ICE's HSI, working jointly with officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, seized more than $2 million in counterfeit merchandise during a two-day operation dubbed Forged Dreams.

A 43-year-old Colombian national who was extradited last December to face U.S. charges was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing money meant to fund meals for under-privileged children.

Jose Hernandez-Velazquez, 54, of Van Nuys, was found guilty following a two-day trial. The charges are the result of a joint investigation initiated in March 2011 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Los Angeles and Delano police departments.