News Releases and Statements

A Taiwanese woman, Susan Yip, was sentenced Wednesday for helping obtain and export military sensitive parts for Iran, which violates the Iranian trade embargo.

An Isabela, Puerto Rico, man, Luis Montalvo-Cruz, was sentenced to 17 years in prison Friday for production of child pornography.

Special agents with ICE's HSI seized two antique statues Oct. 23 from a Manhattan hotel. These statues were seized as part of an ongoing HSI Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Program investigation into Subhash Kapoor, an alleged dealer of stolen antiquities.

John Paul Gamage was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 24 years and five months in federal prison for traveling across state lines into Missouri to engage in illicit sexual contact with an 11-year-old victim.

A 40-year-old man was convicted on multiple charges in federal court Wednesday related to running a prostitution operation in the Twin Cities area using minors.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized 795 counterfeit items in New Orleans Tuesday with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $29,630.

The operation was titled Operation Volusia Broadband, and it was spearheaded by Florida's Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

A Haitian national, Benedick Dextra, aka Benedick Louis, pleaded guilty Oct. 18 for violating the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) security program. This plea comes as a result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led Border Enforcement Security...

A retired New Mexico teacher, Joseph F. Zinkiewicz, pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing child pornography under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico. This case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in Albuquerque and Greeley, Colo.

Jennifer Chen, the chief financial officer of a Georgia-based paper supply company, was arraigned today on charges of conspiracy to import paper products from China with fraudulent invoices and bills of lading, and to avoid customs duties on such products. The indictment is a result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

Despite being warned about the counterfeit Dolby trademarks, Chen and the employee re-stocked their shelves and continued to sell the same DVDs with the same counterfeit Dolby trademarks.

Igor Borodin pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. district court in Charlotte to trafficking in counterfeit airbags, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Seven people were sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for their roles in a drug trafficking and money laundering scheme that used Arkansas businesses to hide $315,000 in illegal proceeds from a California-based drug ring.

In Soon Kim, the owner of the Kyoto Hot Stone Spa, was arrested Wednesday by special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and charged with recruiting prostitutes for her business.

Over the past 15 months, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has provided extensive training and capacity building to Paraguay's customs office and other Paraguayan law enforcement partners.

A New Jersey man was arrested Oct. 12 on charges of falsely impersonating a federal officer in order to defraud aliens seeking immigration assistance. The arrest is the result of an investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

As a thank you for their investigative work and dedication to an international child predator case with a nexus to Kentucky, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear recently commissioned ICE's HSI Special Agent Michael Romagnoli and Detective Sergeant Nathan Coutts of the London Metropolitan Police's International Assistance Unit, as Kentucky Colonels.

Two individuals from California, Maria Lourdes Aguilar and Victor Yanez-Gutierrez, were each sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison Friday for their leadership roles in a California-based drug trafficking and money laundering organization. The sentences resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations...

A Kirkland man, Jacob Saul Stuart, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison for his part in leading a transnational drug smuggling ring uncovered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and member agencies of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

Estevan Olmos, 40, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

A North Carolina man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison following his guilty plea to sexually exploiting children, announced U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter, District of Montana.

Zhen Lai, 37, of Quincy, Mass., and Joseph Girouard, 55, of Revere, were arrested this afternoon by HSI special agents and the Massachusetts State Police. Lai was arrested in Quincy and Girouard was arrested in Somerville, Mass. Lai and Girouard are each charged with one count each of trafficking in persons for sexual servitude and keeping a house of ill fame.

Samuel Barnette was charged in federal court Thursday with distributing child pornography. The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force, Carmel Police Department, Noblesville Police Department, and other state and local partners.

A St. Petersburg, Fla. registered sex offender, Richard Sikorski, was charged via criminal complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography Thursday. The charges resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Hajian pleaded guilty July 11. Three of his companies, RH International LLC, Nexiant LLC, and P & P Computers LLC, also pleaded guilty that same day.