News Releases and Statements

Arnold P. Nerenberg, a Whittier, Calif., psychologist, was arrested Tuesday morning following his indictment for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to bill the federal government for close to $1 million in costs involving fabricated psychological conditions and related medical treatments investigators say never took place.

Oleksandr Skochyk, 34, and Yeveniy Suray, 28, both of Kiev, Ukraine, were indicted in April by a federal grand jury on seven counts related to the importation and distribution of anabolic steroids after an investigation by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Both men were extradited to the United States from Cyprus...

With the expansion of the use of biometric information sharing to these five counties, ICE is using this capability in 30 Alabama jurisdictions. Across the country, ICE is using this capability in 1400 jurisdictions in 43 states and territories. Since ICE began using this enhanced information sharing capability in October 2008 through April 30, 2011, ICE has removed more than 77,000 criminal aliens including more than 28,000 level 1 offenders convicted of aggravated felonies like murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children.

Alexis Negron-Cruz, 36, of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was arrested on Saturday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for alleged distribution of child pornography and sexually enticing a minor.

A Mexican national, who was deported in 2002, was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after his deportation.

Darryl Owen Walizer, 43, of Las Vegas, was sentenced June 10 by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro to 444 months in prison and lifetime supervised release. Walizer was convicted of coercion and enticement of a minor and commission of a felony sex offense by an individual required to register as a sex offender.

On June 10, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in Baltimore arrested Saul Antonio Uriba, a known MS-13 gang member who was previously deported by ICE's legacy agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), in 1998.

Bidemi Bello, 41, a former resident of Suwanee, Ga., and a citizen of Nigeria, was convicted on 8 counts by a federal jury late Friday night on charges of 2 counts of forced labor, 2 counts of trafficking for forced labor, 1 count of document servitude, 1 count of alien harboring, and 2 counts of making false statements in an application.

Jacinto "Pachi" Diaz, 45, of Miami, was arraigned late Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Hagy on federal charges relating to a ring allegedly responsible for a large-scale theft of copper wire from the Southwire Company in Carrollton, Ga., in 2010.

A federal judge here Monday sentenced a Korea-born pastor who operated a now defunct Orange County religious university to one year in prison and ordered him to forfeit to the government the $4 million property housing the school following his conviction on visa fraud and money laundering charges.

A federal jury found Michel Perreault, 48, of Laval, Quebec, guilty of attempted importation of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He was discovered to be driving a rental car loaded with about 44 pounds of marijuana while attempting to enter the U.S. at the Champlain Port of Entry in a case investigated by U.S. ICE's...

June 8 wasn't a typical Wednesday morning at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Instead, a major operation was underway. A fugitive - an alleged child predator - was on the loose, attempting to leave the country.

In addition to the prison term, Andrew Martinez, 23, will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release following his incarceration. In addition, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger ruled that Martinez's access to minors, computers and the Internet will be restricted.

Stephen Jabbour of Victoria, Texas was sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. Jabbour's collection of over 250,000 images and videos of child pornography is believed to have been the largest such collection seized in the Southern District of Texas, and one of the largest seized in the U.S.

Gabriel Rios, 20, of Corpus Christi, Texas, who was convicted by a jury on multiple counts of possessing child pornography, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum prison term allowed by law after an investigation conducted by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD).

Anthony R. Sherley, 41, of Mineral Wells, Texas was sentenced on Friday to 35 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February to one count of distributing child pornography.

The owner of two Tijuana dry cleaners was also ordered to pay more than $3 million after pleading guilty to charges in a 55-count indictment arising from an investigation by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that he violated U.S. anti-dumping laws by importing Chinese-made steel wire garment hangers to the U.S. without...

Chad Eric O'Kelley was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a scheme to defraud the U.S. military and commit money laundering by allegedly selling stolen U.S. military ammunition. O'Kelley conspired with others while he was employed as the Iraq deputy in-country manager stationed at the Baghdad Operations Center by a U.S. Defense contractor...

This initiative targets immigration scams involving the unauthorized practice of immigration law (UPIL), which occurs when legal advice and/or representation regarding immigration matters is provided by an individual who is not an attorney or accredited representative.

Richard D. Hendricks, 31, of Ashford, Conn., was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography.

Federal authorities have seized nearly $15 million from a Swiss bank account belonging to a former Bay Area man who fled the country following his indictment three years ago on federal charges for selling millions of dollars worth of counterfeit antivirus software over the Internet.

Carlos Torruco-Ventura, 30, of Hartsville, S.C., pled guilty Tuesday in federal court in Florence, to illegal re-entry into the United States, a violation of Title 8, U.S. Code, Section 1326(a).

Randy Hucks was indicted for trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals, including Cialis and Viagra tablets. He was conducting business under the name Fashionista Emporium, selling pharmaceuticals from China. The case is being investigated by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Food and Drug Administration.