News Releases and Statements

Within the past two months, special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have locally seized almost 9,000 items of counterfeit merchandise valued at nearly $3.5 million during 'Operation Holiday Hoax.'

'John Doe' was arrested Monday evening at a residence near Jonesboro after HSI received nearly 50 tips from the public via the HSI Tip Line.

This historical document was seized by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Wilmington, Del., following an extensive investigation.

According to the criminal complaint, Leo De la Rosa-Meran, 45, engaged in sexually explicit telephone conversations with two 17-year-old female minors, both of whom he met through his church.

U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay remanded Travis Olt, 40, of Irving, Texas, who had been released on bond, into custody.

An immigration attorney, Kiran Dewan, pleaded guilty to bribery and one of his clients also pleaded guilty to immigration fraud on Dec. 13.

In less than two years, the task force has seized more than $4.6 million from criminal organizations.

Rex D. McBride, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey to 63 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. McBride pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 18.

Paul Harvilicz, 62, of Copperas Cove, Texas, has been in custody since he was arrested in Waco, Texas, March 27 on related charges. Harvilicz pleaded guilty in August to a superseding indictment charging one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.

Christopher Allen Morace, 31, of Clinton, pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to possessing child pornography. HSI special agents searched his Hinds County residence May 31, 2012, and seized an external hard drive that included child pornography.

'John Doe' is believed to be approximately 18 to 20 years old, has pale skin with straight dark-brown hair over the ears, and light blue or green eyes.

David Wayne Land, 43, was discovered distributing 2 video files that portrayed minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

According to court documents, between October and December 2012, Michael Alan Klevene, 62, uploaded numerous videos and images of child pornography to the Internet. On Jan. 24, Klevene emailed an undercover HSI special agent links to the child pornography.

The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (SCMPD) received a check for $244,875.01 Thursday from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta office.

The indictment names owners Miguel Castro, 44, and Monica Castro, 43, both of Uniontown; and managers Cesar Castro, 28, of Akron; Aldo Castro,42, of Akron; Pedro Cervantes, 39, of Mexico; and Gustavo Torres, 45, of Kent.

The third and final defendant has been sentenced in a violent hostage case involving three Mexican men who held three smuggled aliens in a West Phoenix drop house while attempting to extort thousands of dollars from their family in Washington state.

In addition to his prison sentence, David Daniel Hicks Jr., 42, of Andalusia, Ala., must serve a lifetime term of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, from November 2009 through February 2012, the defendants ran one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling and distribution conspiracies ever charged by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Marco Laquin Rogers was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Thursday for human trafficking and child pornography charges after he traveled to Mississippi, had sex with a 4-year-old girl and videotaped the abuse.

A convicted alien smuggler from Mexico, Jose Guadalupe Reyna-Esparza, was sentenced Thursday to nine years imprisonment for smuggling illegal aliens and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl repeatedly.

Michelle Lee Freeman and Michael Serapis Freeman, a Salem couple arrested last year after a nationwide alert by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seeking an unknown "Jane Doe"" child pornographer, were sentenced this month to federal prison.

A south Texas nurse practitioner, Celia Raquel Zuniga, was sentenced Thursday to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for trafficking marijuana.

During a forensic examination of seized computer equipment, special agents found a video of David Kevin Schultz directing a female minor and a young adult male to engage in various sexual acts in his Laurel home.

Julio Cesar Cardenas was sentenced Wednesday to four life sentences in federal prison for his involvement in leading a drug trafficking organization that had close ties to the Gulf Cartel and delivered drugs throughout 12 states.

Following the initial traffic stop, a canine alerted law enforcement to the presence of illegal drugs in the luggage compartment of the bus. Task force officers subsequently conducted a search of the bus and discovered large bundles of cash hidden in three suitcases.