News Releases and Statements

"Herculano Albarran-Martinez, also known as ""El Nene,"" has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking cocaine, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)."

Kenneth Oray Wagner, of Tacoma, pleaded guilty to the charge in February. He admitted to sharing child pornography in online chat rooms with the username "Lusting4lil1s" (lusting for little ones).

Adam Joshua Cortez, 31, of Justin, Texas, was convicted by a jury after a two day trial. Cortez faces a statutory sentence of not less than 20 years and up to life in prison on the enticement charge. He faces an additional mandatory 10-year sentence, which must run consecutive to any other sentence, for committing this offense while registered as a sex offender.

Samuel William Maines has been charged with possessing child pornography, after law enforcement, conducting an undercover operation using file-sharing software, downloaded files containing images and videos of child pornography from an IP address assigned to Maines' mother in Mesquite, Texas.

According to court documents, in February, Patrick Mahoney, 34, of Columbus, Ohio, arranged an online sexual encounter with an undercover officer whom he thought was a 15-year-old girl. Mahoney allegedly intended to photograph the encounter with his cell phone.

A member of the West Coast Crips gang, Jonathan Jamar Sanders, was sentenced Thursday to 236 months in federal prison on charges stemming from a joint sex trafficking probe that linked him to a scheme involving a 15-year-old girl he recruited to work as a prostitute.

A Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles, following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

On Sunday, April 22, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at the Patapsco Flea Market at 1400 W. Patapsco Avenue in Baltimore as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Nine Fresno-area residents were charged Thursday in a 37-count federal indictment for their role in a major counterfeit document ring uncovered as a result of a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Federal and local authorities announced the indictment Thursday of 19 members of the "500 Block/C Street" gang on racketeering and other federal charges, alleging they engaged in a host of crimes, including murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking as part of a broader conspiracy to preserve the organization's power and protect its territory.

Four Mexican nationals, including three suspected torture victims, were rescued from a human smuggling drop house Wednesday by special agents from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations assigned to the Phoenix Border Enforcement Security Task Force Drop House Response Group, with support from the Phoenix Police Department.

Armando Ruben Avila was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for possessing child pornography as the result of an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). A forensic exam revealed at least 4,000 images and 50 videos of child pornography on Avila's computers.

A 27-year-old southwest Texas man, Fernando Ochoa, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison Monday for alien smuggling that resulted in the death of a Honduran national. The case was investigated ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Border Patrol.

Joseph Wright was taken into custody early this morning in connection with the discovery of two bodies, including Wright's mother, in Saugus, Mass., yesterday. Wright was taken into custody as he attempted to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

You'll find them in Arizona's most remote areas, brandishing firearms and bullet-proof vests. They are on the hunt for weapons traffickers or drug smugglers. But they're not law enforcement officers. They are bandit crews - criminals - who will do anything to make a profit,which often means murdering and stealing from other criminals in the desert.

A Canadian man was sentenced Wednesday for smuggling more than 800 grams of cocaine into the United States from Costa Rica.

A Washington-based supplier of fresh organic herbs to nearly 2,700 grocers was sentenced Tuesday to $1 million in criminal fines and probation for hiring illegal aliens in a case spurred by a tip to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Gary Lee Jackson, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced to 360 months in prison for possessing child pornography. During Jackson's sentencing hearing, an officer with the Garland Police Department (GPD) testified that Jackson admitted to him that he had sexually exploited children.

David Hernandez has been sentenced to 210 months in prison following his conviction for producing child pornography. The investigation was conducted by the Corpus Christi Police Department's (CCPD) Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (ICAC) and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

James M. Woosley, the former acting director of intelligence for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of more than $180,000 in a scheme involving fraudulent travel vouchers, and time and attendance claims.

James E. Johnston, 70, was also found guilty on two counts of receiving child pornography and on one count of possession of child pornography. The case is the product of an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jerry Earl Troupe Jr. of Humansville, Mo., was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Jason Farris of Anderson, Mo., was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

During a two-day targeted enforcement operation in the Boston area, officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 13 convicted criminal aliens.

Cassandra Casarez Fierros pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements to a government agency in connection with a scheme involving the sale of official California driver's licenses to ineligible individuals. The charges are the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.