News Releases and Statements

Special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed state search warrants this week against five local vendors and seized more than $200,000 worth of goods, capping a six month crackdown on Orange County retailers suspected of selling counterfeit merchandise called Operation Fashion Faux Pas.

According to court documents, a drug deal to purchase methamphetamine was negotiated between Rodriguez and undercover HSI special agents.

Freddy Mauricio Tellez-Buitrago and Adriana Gonzalez-Marquez were arrested today in Bogota for obstructing justice by selling sensitive and confidential U.S. law enforcement information to a narcotics trafficker, concerning prosecutions in New York. The arrests are the result of an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Stephen Keating, 52, of Jesup, Ga., had his initial court appearance Friday morning in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Graham. Keating was not granted a bond; his detention hearing will be held before Judge Graham on Monday.

Samuel William Maines was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July for possessing child pornography. A forensic analysis of his computer revealed more than 900 videos and 1,200 images of child pornography.

Billy Santos-Feliciano was sentenced Friday to four years in prison followed by supervised release for life for possession of child pornography. The investigation leading to this sentence was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF).

Weather conditions eventually became so severe that in one case a special agent actually had to swim from his home to safety.

Following an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), eight Maine employers were fined a total of $78,966.50 in fiscal year (FY) 2012 for various employment violations.

Gurpreet Singh Kohli, 58, of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty Thursday to obstruction of agency proceedings, in connection with false statements he made to investigators during his background investigation for a government security clearance.

Following an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 12 Connecticut employers were fined a total of $132,584.25 in fiscal year (FY) 2012 for various employment violations.

Joseph Wai-Man Wu, 53, former president of the East West Law Group, pleaded guilty in August 2011.

The president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, Gerardo Chavez, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that revealed he orchestrated a wide-ranging conspiracy involving the fraudulent importation of more than $100 million of Chinese and other foreign-made goods...

Donovan Ray Kendrick, 39, pleaded guilty June 12 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced Nov. 14 to 46 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.

Leonel Alvaro Abundis-Carreon, 22, pleaded guilty Aug. 6 before U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez-Ramos, who sentenced him to a term of 78 months in federal prison, which is to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Martinez faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 25.

Fifty-three individuals charged with theft of government property and identity theft were arrested Wednesday in several municipalities of Puerto Rico following a joint Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (HSI) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) probe.

Following an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 17 Massachusetts employers were fined a total of $349,619.54 in fiscal year (FY) 2012 for various employment violations.

This expanded service streamlines the means by which detainees can access assistance.

Top-level officials from South San Francisco and Daly City met with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents Wednesday morning to formally recognize them for their efforts to combat gang-related crime and violence in those communities.

Billy Paul Lee of Carriere, Miss., was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a plot to distribute Mexican methamphetamine in southern Mississippi through the mail. The sentence is the result of a 2 year investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in coordination with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service...

DOJ has forfeited a Manhattan condominium and a Virginia residence with a combined value of nearly $2.1 million that were purchased with the proceeds of bribes paid to the family of former Taiwanese President Shui-Bian Chen.

ICE's Hidden In Plain Sight campaign is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign.

Countryside Health Care of Milford has followed the town's lead by partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) employment compliance program, IMAGE, or 'ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers.'

A Louisiana construction business, Rendon Construction LLC, and its owner, Ramon Santos, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to charges of conspiring to hide more than $280,000 gained by harboring and employing illegal aliens at multiple company work sites. The guilty plea follows an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

A Los Angeles-area man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that he conspired with eight others to operate a document counterfeiting ring that sold to buyers in Fresno, Tulare and Madera counties.