News Releases and Statements

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to willfully reproduce and distribute tens of thousands of infringing copies of copyrighted works without permission, including infringing copies of movies before they were commercially released on DVD.

According to documents filed in the case, Amber Schmidt, of Garland, Texas, used cell phones and text messages to send child pornography images to others. One of the individuals to whom she sent child pornography was Gary Lee Jackson, 26, also of Garland.

Ruben Cuellar, 42, of Shallowater, Texas, faces a statutory sentence of not less than five or more than 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the report is completed.

A 25-year-old Cameroon citizen is in federal custody on wire fraud charges related to a fraudulent scheme to sell frozen chicken feet, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Louisiana State University Police Department.

Six people were arrested Wednesday and charged with harboring illegal aliens as part of a conspiracy that allegedly obtained motor vehicle registrations, license plates and titles for illegal aliens.

The nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur was forfeited today to ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This action stems from an investigation by HSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Bataar dinosaur was looted from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

A convicted sex offender, Gregory Sean O'Neall, was arrested on federal child pornography charges Thursday by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He allegedly secretly photographed young girls shopping while he was working as a Costco food demonstrator and posted the pictures online.

Santos Botello was charged Thursday with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Botello was allegedly arranging sham marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens for profit since 2002. The investigation was conducted ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are searching for 30 suspects in five states after three indictments were unsealed in federal court alleging their involvement in a scheme to illegally obtain driver's licenses from New Mexico.

Two men from Cabo Rojo and Lares, Puerto Rico, were arrested at their places of residence on child pornography charges during separate law enforcement actions Tuesday, following investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A 30-year-old Peruvian citizen, Jenny Sedano-Vilcapoma, was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 months in prison for participating in a marriage fraud scheme disrupted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Sedano-Vilcapoma is the sixth and final defendant sentenced as a result of this investigation.

Gary K. Schatz was arrested in Boynton Beach, Fla., June 14 for sexually enticing a person he believed was a minor over the Internet. The charges resulted from an investigation by by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Brian Weiss was sentenced June 19 to 10 years and one month in federal prison for using a cell phone and computer to arrange for sex with a person he believed was a 14-year-old child. The sentence resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

A Nigerian man, Ade Lawrence, has been sentenced to 19 years and seven months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. The investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in conjunction with the Brazilian and Panamanian Federal Police.

Jonathan Binns of Shenandoah, Pa., was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison for production of child pornography. This case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Binns admitted that he took sexually explicit photographs and videos of two minor children in 2010, uploaded the child pornography to a computer...

A counterfeit trafficking ring has been dismantled resulting in the seizure of more than 32,000 bogus cell phones and other electronics. Three individuals were arrested by law enforcement Tuesday after an extensive investigation conducted by ICE HSI, CBP and the Nassau County Police Department.

Dario Alcaraz-Vega, a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle over $1 million worth of heroin into the United States concealed in a truck spare tire, pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug trafficking charges. The charges stem from an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Two local men living in Mexico were sentenced to years in federal prison Tuesday for exporting about 3,000 rounds of ammunition to Mexico without a license. The investigation of Guillermo Enrique Villarreal and Leoncio Sanchez was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A Mexican national pleaded guilty Tuesday for being an illegal alien possessing a firearm. Luis Ivan Nino-Duenes admitted he illegally entered the United States, and that at the time of his arrest he possessed a customized gold, diamond and ruby encrusted Colt .38-caliber handgun.

Pursuant to a plea agreement and settlement with the United States, the accused forfeited all interest in the Southwest Flea Market property.

Brian Robinson was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison for the creation, distribution and possession of child pornography, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Robinson admitted creating child pornography with his then 5- and 6-year-old son and distributing it to others both inside and outside of the U.S.

We have reason to believe that this person may now live, or may have lived at one time, in either Minnesota or western Wisconsin.

A Los Angeles man, along with his current wife and ex-wife, face federal charges following a 10-month probe that allegedly revealed they recruited women in Eastern Europe and arranged for them to come to the Los Angeles area to work as prostitutes.

Roberto Cruz-Melendez had his initial appearance in federal court Friday, following his arrest by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for production of child pornography. Cruz-Melendez induced an 8-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded it with his camera phone.

Four individuals were indicted recently for computer crime, filing false tax returns and trademark counterfeiting for selling counterfeit cycling jerseys and bicycle components on the Internet, announced Monday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Seized counterfeit items have an estimated industry MSRP value of $285,306.