News Releases and Statements

According to court documents, the defendants operated a criminal enterprise in Central Texas since 2005. Under the leadership of Texas-Central Region “Inca” Pete Perez in Austin, San Antonio Chapter “Inca” Joe Pierce and Uvalde Chapter “Incas” James Long and Jacob Mariscal, they conspired to carry out unlawful acts including attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, extortion, robbery, various firearms offenses and drug distribution involving marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The conference brought together brand protection leaders from industry, academia and law enforcement to discuss ground-breaking research from world-renowned scholars, field-driven insight from globally-recognized organizations in both the private and public sector and current and emerging challenges and strategies in the area of intellectual property rights.

Charles Magovern, 67, of Boulder, Colorado, was sentenced in Wyoming federal court to one year supervised probation for smuggling paleontological specimens and aiding abetting. As part of an agreement made with the government, Magovern also returned all fossils under his control.

Dalia Ivette Singh, aka Dalia Pena, 61, who most recently resided in Clearwater, Florida, defrauded more than 40 immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America. Singh charged some families as much as $36,000, claiming she had a contact with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) who could provide the immigrants with legal status in the United States.

Shawn McCormack, 31, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was found guilty in April 2015 by a federal jury of kidnapping and producing child pornography involving two toddlers.

Arthur Office, 45, from Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty April 1, 2015, to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of cocaine.

“These aliens were targeted because they meet the agency’s highest enforcement priorities,” said Tom Decker, ERO Philadelphia field office director. “By taking these individuals off our streets and removing them from the country, we are making our communities safer for everyone.”

Evan Patterson, 31, from Grand Prairie, Texas, remains on bond after he pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.

Marycela Rivas, 36 of Avondale, appeared in federal court Thursday. Rivas’ sister and primary accomplice, Leticia Montano aka Leticia Rivas, 42, of Phoenix, was sentenced Sept. 30 to 63 months in prison followed by three years’ supervised release.

More than 60 law enforcement officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) Attaché Office in Athens and the Hellenic Customs Authority (HCA) gathered for a new training program focused on enhancing HCA's border interdictions and anti-smuggling investigations.

Stephanie Pyle was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her conviction on the fraud charge, and 24 months in prison for her conviction on an aggravated identity theft charge. Since identity theft sentences must be served consecutively to sentences on other convictions, Pyle’s total sentence is 54 months in federal prison.

Meghan Breanna Alt, 25, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon in San Diego County by investigators assigned to the multi-agency Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force (OCCETF).

The Salvadoran Transnational Criminal Investigations Unit (TCIU) executed the search and arrest warrant at Acosta-Cortez’s home without incident. TCIU officers seized approximately $3,000 in U.S. currency, one vehicle and eight cell phones.

David Arthur, 50, of Huntington Beach, manufactured a medical device known as the “Energy Wave.”

The book titled “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life,” returned today was stolen from Mount Saint Vincent University Library in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada, by convicted antiquities smuggler John Mark Tillman, 51, of Fall River, Nova Scotia.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan announced year-end statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2015 Thursday showing record increases in criminal arrests as well as narcotics, illegal arms and money seizures.

All of those arrested by ICE during the enforcement action, which concluded Sept. 29, met at least one of the agency’s three enforcement priorities. Over one quarter had criminal records that included felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as murder, attempted murder, child sex crimes, sex offenses, weapons charges and drug violations.

Some illicit marijuana grow operations were located in multiple residences and outbuildings; many others were located on federal land, causing environmental damage that may take years to repair. In every case, these marijuana grow operations were illegal under federal law and unlicensed by state authorities under Colorado’s marijuana regulatory system.

The federal indictment charges Drew Christopher Potter, 33, of Watuga, Texas, with one count of conspiring to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and three substantive counts of transporting undocumented aliens.

George Alexander Martinez, 31, from San Antonio, was sentenced to 262 months in prison – to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release – for transporting a minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual.

Adam Mack, 39, of Portland, Maine, was sentenced to 13 months in prison on multiple counts of aiding and abetting visa and marriage fraud and making false statements. Mack previously pleaded guilty on March 30, 2015.

Brett Corcoran, 25, of Ava, Missouri, was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield Sept. 30. That indictment was unsealed and made public Tuesday upon Corcoran’s arrest and initial court appearance. Corcoran remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing Oct. 8.

Michael Erik Sanders, 40, of Jacksonville, was also ordered to pay Apple Corporation $73,950 and Otter Products (maker of Otterbox Phone Cases) $20,205.

Josh T. Archer, 33, of Aurora, Illinois, pleaded guilty Oct. 5 to traveling to an Aurora hotel to engage in a sexual encounter with a minor girl. Archer agreed to a three-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea of traveling to meet a minor, a Class 3 felony. Kane County Associate Judge Clint Hull accepted Archer's guilty plea.