News Releases and Statements

Ioan Lascau, 57, was turned over to Romanian police at the Henri Coanda International Airport by ICE's ERO officers. Lascau was convicted in a Romanian court in 2010 of money laundering, bribery and corruption violations committed while he served as the Director General of Public Finance in Bihor, Romania.

Robert Mucha pleaded guilty Wednesday to luring a teenage boy to Pennsylvania for sex and downloading and receiving child pornography on his home computer. Prior to his arrest, Mucha worked as a volunteer emergency medical technician in Andover. He also previously taught band and bugle corps to teenagers in Belleville and Lakewood.

The complaint alleges CBP officer John Eric Weaver and his wife, Joy Weaver, conspired to submit falsified education reimbursement claims inflated by more than $8,000.

HSI special agents and officers with the Brattleboro Police Department executed a federal search warrant Tuesday at the residence of David Schnyer, 77, and Ralph Schnyer, 36, a father and son.

William B. Mabry, a Boise man linked to a Treasure Valley-based scheme to manufacture a synthetic cannabinoid commonly known as spice, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to launder money.

The leader of a human smuggling organization and 21 brothel operators and prostitutes were indicted without detention in South Korea following an investigation by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency-International Crime Investigation Unit (SMPA-ICIU) and ICE's HSI Seoul.

On June 13, 2012, law enforcement officers acting in an undercover capacity posted an advertisement on Craigslist.org purporting to be a 13-year-old girl. Jeffrey Monroe Roy of Mobile, Alabama, responded to the posting.

The ICE Academy and FLETC delivered a tailored curriculum that included instruction about how to conduct criminal investigations.

Jacobo Feliciano-Francisco was arraigned in federal court Monday on charges related to kidnapping, retaliating against a witness and transporting an individual across state lines to engage in prostitution. The case was investigated by the FBI and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Mystery, intrigue and suspense are just some of the things that viewers can expect from Lifetime's new two-hour made-for-TV original movie "Baby Sellers," set to air Aug. 17, at 8 p.m. EST. In the movie, U.S. ICE Special Agent Nic Morrison stumbles upon an international human trafficking ring specializing in selling infants.

The defendants each face up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Of the 1,685 aliens removed so far this fiscal year by the four Texas-based offices, about 25 percent were convicted of sex offenses against children.

Police arrested Carlos Romero, 22, in the early morning hours of June 8, 2011.

According to court documents, Albert Rose, 55, of Hampton, admitted distributing images of child pornography via email using a computer located in his residence in February 2010. He also admitted to possessing more than 600 images of child pornography on his computer, which was seized from his residence in February 2012.

David Shelton was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Thursday after pleading guilty to receiving more than 1,200 child pornography images. The sentence follows an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lake Charles Police Department.

ICE's HSI presented the Woburn Police Department with funds obtained from a criminal investigation into a Boston-area precious metals dealer who attempted to smuggle large quantities of gold into the United States from Canada.

Robin Michael Gattis, a 20-year-old Wasilla man who pleaded guilty Friday to a federal drug conspiracy charge, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for leading a methylone production and distribution ring linked to at least one death.

A 29-year-old Montana man, William Forrest Paul, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison following his guilty plea to distributing methamphetamine.

According to the indictment, between December 2011 and July 2012, Jose Rodriguez and Edwin Fernandez worked with a Dominican Republic drug trafficking organization to smuggle at least 71 kilograms of cocaine into the United States through the Philadelphia International Airport.

More than 200 alleged transnational criminal street gang members and associates were arrested in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras during a 60-day enforcement operation spearheaded by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Central American law enforcement.

ICE protects the United States by promoting homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

Seven arrests have been made in a coordinated operation spanning several states, related to the unsealing of a 17-count indictment and criminal complaint involving Gallant Pharma Itnl Inc., an allegedly unlicensed company that is accused of distributing misbranded prescription drugs from its HQ in Crystal City and an office in Springfield.

According to an announcement Friday by Arizona's attorney general, Juan Manuel Alvarado-Fajardo and Neriah Kidebar Morin-Alvarado admitted in a plea agreement they transported marijuana in order to sell it and laundered their drug proceeds by purchasing Sierra Vista-area properties.

Osvaldo Pineda Bonilla, a Mexican national and career criminal who was removed from the United States four times since 1997, was deported Wednesday by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

According to investigators, Tracie Jones Mathis, 47, and her co-conspirators agreed to defraud the United States by engaging in scheme to file false income tax forms and receive payment from fraudulent claims made on those forms.