News Releases and Statements

“Operation Mesoamerica” was a 15-month multinational investigation that began with a tip from the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Attaché Office in Merida, Mexico, and ended Tuesday, June 28, with the arrest of 27 individuals throughout Central America. A second human smuggling investigation yielded 14 arrests on Monday, June 27, in Colombia.

According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars (equivalent to approximately $6 million U.S. dollars) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bian’s administration. 

Francisco Roberto Esquibel, Jr., 34, was charged in a criminal complaint filed June 11, 2015, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to the complaint, APD officers found the firearm while arresting Esquibel on an outstanding warrant. 

Allen Fong, 59, of San Mateo, is one of 10 defendants named in a far-reaching indictment filed Oct. 16, 2014. Fong pleaded guilty to all 32 counts charged in the indictment after acknowledging his role in an enterprise that recruited Asian women and facilitated their travel into the U.S. to work as prostitutes in brothels located in the Bay Area. 

During the operation, HSI special agents and partner law enforcement officers targeted 14 retailers of counterfeit goods infringing on the trademarks of Gucci, Michael Kors, Prada, Channel, Ray Ban, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Oakley, Nike, Ray Ban and the National Basketball Association. 

The FDLE began an investigation into Donald Daniel Robinson, 30, of Tampa after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. On July 8, 2015, agents from FDLE and ICE HSI executed a search warrant at Robinson's home where multiple images of child pornography, including images of local children, were found.

Eduardo Rocha, Sr., aka “Lalo,” was sentenced July 6 by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses to life in prison. In addition to the prison term, Judge Moses ordered Rocha to pay $10,481.20 in restitution to his victims and forfeit to the government his real property located in Carrizo Springs, Texas where the crimes were committed.

Rolando Reyes-Cruz, 49, a Mexico national who was residing in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, was sentenced July 6 by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to 46 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported, which is a felony.

Francisco Javier Gomez-Rodriguez, 38, of Pihuamo, Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to three years and five months in prison and ordered to pay $8,750 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service.

According to documents filed in his case, Nicholas Daniel Glass, 34, of San Angelo, Texas, used his cellular telephone and a laptop computer to possess and access images of one or more minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Matthew Anthony Keller, 24, of Watauga, Texas, made his initial appearance in federal court July 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, who ordered that he remain in custody pending a detention hearing set for July 6.

Alexander Brazhnikov Jr., 37, a naturalized United States citizen born in Moscow, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to smuggle electronics from the United States, and one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Brazhnikov also agreed to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment against him in the amount of $65 million.

The defendants - including Angelica Moreno-Velasquez, 31, Maria Victoria Perez-Vasquez, 30, Francisco Javier Hidalgo-Flores, 25, Lizet Amairani Ramirez-Zazueta, 26, and Veronica Rosales-Capitaine, 49, all of Fresno, and Fidel Vasquez-Velasquez, 22, of Madera - are charged with conspiracy; transferring false identification documents; possessing document-making implements; and fraud and misuse of alien registration receipt cards.

Joel Alexander Wright, 23, appeared in federal court Friday morning. In addition to the prison term, the judge also imposed the added condition that Wright will be subject to lifetime supervision.

The honey likely originated from the same exporter in Vietnam as another 60 tons of honey that was seized by HSI Chicago in the Midwest in April. Wednesday’s seizure was allegedly imported into the United States by a shell importer of record in New York, New York. Agents located the honey by combing through transportation shipping records to piece together its whereabouts.

Cory Werito, 32, of Farmington, and Rosita Toledo, 46, of Kirtland, are charged in a 10-count indictment filed June 15. Werito and Toledo were arrested June 28, and made their initial appearances in federal court in Farmington. They remain in custody pending their arraignment and detention hearings, which are set for June 30 in Albuquerque.

Terrell Banker, 26, was convicted of federal sex trafficking charges following a jury trial in October 2015. A co-defendant, Laura Cook, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 58 months in prison earlier this year.

On June 16, 2015, Kan Chen, 26, of Ningbo, China, in Zhejiang Province, was arrested by HSI special agents on the Northern Mariana Island of Saipan following an eight-month investigation into his illegal conduct and has remained in custody.

Following a probable cause and detention hearing Wednesday in federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton ordered that Mark Stutheit, 59, remain in federal custody. Stutheit is a teacher at Reinhardt Elementary School in Dallas.

Erik Bilal Khan, 36, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was also ordered to lifetime supervised release, and he must register as a sex offender after completing his sentence.

Patria Zuniga, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 78 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $713,850.  In January 2016, Zuniga pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud.

Natalie Middleton, 30, of Clovis, appeared in federal court Monday. According to court documents, Middleton purchased a Lake Tahoe time share with proceeds obtained from the sales of smokable synthetic cannabinoids. Middleton’s plea agreement states that, from January through March 2013, she was employed as a national sales representative for ZenBio LLC (ZenBio). 

According to documents filed in the case, between about January and April 2014, Bryan Kendall Pittsinger, 39, of Arlington, Texas, knowingly used a minor female (MV1) to engage in sexually explicit conduct that he photographed at his Arlington residence.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from 2008 to 2014, Jayson Mickle, 31, sold synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “spice,” in the Hampton Roads area and, eventually, nationwide. Spice consists of plant material sprayed with ever changing active chemical ingredients often produced in clandestine laboratories in China.