News Releases and Statements

An upstate New York woman was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with unlawfully possessing - with the intent to distribute - ecstasy pills, along with aggravated identity theft.

Laura Shauger, 35, of Quakertown, Pa., and Patrick Mergen, 40, of Sewell, N.J., were arrested by HSI special agents and were charged Thursday with manufacturing, distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

A main operator of an international scheme responsible for smuggling into the United States hundreds of illegal aliens from Brazil, India and elsewhere was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in prison.

A Slovenian national, who is wanted in his native country for blackmail, was deported Tuesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Robert Brake of Byrnes Mill, Mo., along with his company, Brake Landscaping and Lawncare Inc., were sentenced Thursday in federal court to forfeitures and probation following their visa fraud guilty pleas in June to misdemeanor charges of employing illegal aliens.

Another 17 defendants face related state charges in Cook and Will counties.

Ponzi scheme cost victims more than $1.6 million

The goal of this operation, dubbed "SOAR" (Sex Offender Alien Removal), was to identify, locate and arrest aliens who have convictions for sex crimes, especially sex crimes against children.

A South Carolina man and former captain in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty to charges of importing heroin and possession with the intent to distribute the drug.

Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Tuesday deported a man from El Salvador who was wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country.

A central Minnesota man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to six years in federal prison for sexually abusing two minor boys. The sentence resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations.

As part of U.S. ICE's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 37 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a three-day operation in the Chicago area.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the theft of two specialized competition bicycles belonging to Olympic Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong. The bicycles are believed to have been stolen while in transit from Germany to Idaho.

An eastern Iowa construction company owner, Thomas C. Kehoe, was sentenced in federal court Wednesday on charges of harboring illegal aliens. This sentence resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

It is expected that Anthony Zane Austin, 20, of Childress, Texas, will surrender to federal authorities and appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Clinton Averitte Sept. 20 for his initial appearance.

Timothy Brehmer, 35, of Broadalbin, N.Y., was sentenced earlier today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe.

Joshua Taylor was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison Tuesday for the distribution of child pornography.

Ten Mexican nationals and three U.S. citizens made their initial appearances in federal court Monday on drug charges stemming from their alleged role in an effort to smuggle nearly a ton and a half of marijuana into the United States from Mexico onboard a panga that came ashore near San Simeon Thursday morning.

Through its 9/11 exhibit, unveiled earlier this year at the ICE Gallery's opening, the agency pays tribute to the nearly 3,000 innocent people who lost their lives, the countless family members left behind, the staggering number of first responders who selflessly rushed to help, as well as the role that its legacy agencies - U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service - played in recovery efforts.

Xiao Cheng Lin, 50, and his wife, Ling Zhen Hu, 51, both of New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to conspiring to import misclassified merchandise. Hu, a native of China, worked for an individual who imported thousands of pairs of sneakers from China that bore the Nike "swoosh" logo and Nike labeling, but were not genuine Nike sneakers.

Sokrat Stambolliu, an Albanian national residing in Dedham, Mass., who was wanted in his home country on murder charges, was turned over to Albanian law enforcement authorities this morning at the Tirana International Airport Nene Tereza in Tirana, Albania.

Inocente Orlando Montano, 70, of Everett, Mass., pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury. Had the case proceeded to trial, the evidence would have proved that Montano, a citizen of El Salvador, served as an officer in the military of El Salvador for 30 years, including during the period of El Salvador's civil war, from 1979 through 1991.

Krister Kaj Vilen, 40, of Titusville, Fla., was sentenced to 98 months in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. After he completes his prison sentence, he must serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to the criminal complaint, Charles Lee Gorish, 66, of St. Augustine sent a package, via Federal Express, to an individual in Ontario, Canada. The package contained, among other things, two micro Secure Digital (SD) media cards with numerous images of child pornography.

Four individuals were arrested in Naples, Fla., Aug. 31, for conspiring to commit immigration fraud. The indictment alleges the defendants conspired to sell fraudulent Cuban birth certificates and to assist in the preparation of fraudulent applications for immigration benefits.