News Releases and Statements

Don Francis, Jr., 46, of Metairie, previously admitted during his guilty plea in April 2016, that he transported child pornography. According to court documents, Feb. 5, 2014, HSI and state and local investigators executed a search warrant of Francis’ residence and discovered child pornography on a computer maintained and controlled by Francis.

On Sept. 20, Carlos Castro-Noriega, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 63 months in federal prison.  Last month, Judge Fitzwater sentenced Cristina Melissa Gomez, 24, to 46 months in federal prison. 

That superseding indictment charged Moniteveti Katoa, and the following three others, with the cocaine distribution conspiracy offense: Funaki Falahola, 34, Molitoni Katoa, 34, and Janelle Isaacs, 42.

Joel Dominguez-Morales, 41, was arrested May 6, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Lea County, New Mexico. His co-defendants include Javier Amador-Flores, 49; Maria Marcelina Cardoza-Burciaga, 40; Jose Manuel Trujillo, 41; and Myrna Orozco, 32, a U.S. citizen.

Mynor Guillermo Pinto-Lopez , 35, was repatriated on board an ICE Air flight that originated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After arriving in Guatemala City, ERO officers transferred Pinto-Lopez to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement.

Kevin Barry O’Connell was sentenced to five years in prison following his guilty plea to receiving child pornography at his residence in Patchogue, New York. O’Connell was also sentenced to five years supervised release to follow his prison sentence, during which time he must register as a sex offender and he will not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors.

Hasan Edmonds, 24, also pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.  Jonas Edmonds, 31, pleaded guilty to an additional count of making a materially false statement to a law enforcement officer regarding an offense of international terrorism.

According to the court documents, Amit Chaudhry, 44, is an Indian national who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005.  Beginning in 2011, he was part of a large, international wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy that involved processing stolen credit card numbers and laundering the proceeds through hundreds of bank accounts.

A multi-agency law enforcement operation in Thurston County targeting individuals intending to sexually exploit children resulted in the arrest of 21 males and one female, and the rescue of four children at risk of being abused.

On Sept. 19, a jury found the following four men guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering after a weeklong trial before U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant:  Miguel Rivas Estrada, 29, of Michoacán, Mexico; Felipa Torres, 49, of Dallas, Texas; Justa Centeno, 52, of Dallas; and Jose Angel Olvera, 40, of Dallas.

Rolando Minano, 48, pleaded guilty in May 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.  Rolando Minano’s ex-wife, Martha Irene Collantes, 53, and his stepson, Carlos Arturo Pastor Collantes, 32, were sentenced in May 2016 to 12 months and just over 10 months, respectively.

John Everett Kamph, 42, of Seattle, first caught the attention of law enforcement when his internet service provider and email were linked to the receipt of child sexual abuse images. Further investigation revealed that Kamph had produced a video using his dog to attract young children in what appears to be a Seattle park. 

In a September 15, 2016, ceremony at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC, four ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents were among those honored with the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence.

Presided over by FBI Director James Comey, this year’s event marked the 25th annual ceremony honoring not only Bureau employees, but also recognizing many outstanding partnerships throughout the global law enforcement community.

William David Harden, 65, formerly of Tye, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest based on a federal indictment in August 2015.

“Kingdom of Shadows,” a film that features ICE HSI ASAC Oscar Hagelsieb, and highlights the realities and consequences of drug trafficking along the United States-Mexican border made its national television premiere Monday, Sept. 19, on PBS. 

Daniel Raymond Glaus, 48, of Moline, Illinois, was charged Sept. 15 with one count of international parental kidnapping and one count of using a passport secured by a false statement.  The indictment and a criminal complaint were filed in the case last month.  

Vincent Lee Ferguson, 65, of Knoxville; Matthew Lee Ferguson, 40, of Lenoir City; Kerry Joseph Ferguson, 35, of Houston, Texas; Matthew Harrison Martland, 32, of Knoxville; and Stephanie Lynn Kaemmerer, 44, of Knoxville; appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifton Corker and pleaded not guilty. All were released on bond pending trial, which has been set for Nov. 1, in U.S. District Court, in Greeneville.

Gary Jay Zimmerman, aka Gary Leslie Sumner, 43, of Oak Creek, is facing multiple charges, including sexual conduct with a minor, continuous sexual abuse of a child, child molestation and filming minors engaged in sexual conduct. Richard Byard Sumner, 41, of Long Beach, California, was arrested for possessing and creating child pornography.

James Russell Wilson, 32, of Tulsa, was indicted by a grand jury in April, and pleaded guilty June 14. Wilson was a teacher with Tulsa’s Union Public Schools.

Jesus Salazar-Martinez, 30, a Mexican national who was illegally residing in Baraboo, Wisconsin, was sentenced Sept. 13 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 15 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported.

On May 26, a federal jury in El Paso found Lawrence Madrid, 54, guilty of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, aiding and abetting alien smuggling for financial gain, and two substantive counts of accepting a bribe.

Noe Aranda-Soto, aka Diablo, 36, of San Carlos, Michoacan, Mexico, pleaded guilty May 31 to the following charges:  kidnapping resulting in death, using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death, and conspiracy to transport aliens for private financial gain resulting in death.