News Releases and Statements

Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the painting Leda ed il Cigno, by Italian Renaissance painter Lelio Orsi, was ordered forfeited to the government as property brought into the United States in violation of customs laws.

Six individuals who live in the High Point/Thomasville area in North Carolina were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on Friday on charges that they were involved in an alleged conspiracy to steal baby formula from retail stores in several southern states.

Rafael Luis Mieles, 25, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography in connection with an online ad he posted seeking to have sex with a father and son.

A federal grand jury indicted Naveed Sheikh, 30, of Baltimore, late yesterday afternoon for illegally reproducing and distributing over 100 copyrighted commercial software programs.

Gustavo G. Olvera, 37, was arrested on Jan. 6 on charges of child enticement and receiving child pornography outlined in a federal criminal complaint. A federal grand jury in Fort Worth indicted Olvera Jan. 12 for those offenses.

The money is the result of a settlement of IFCO's corporate criminal liability for conduct associated with the hiring and employment of illegal alien workers at its pallet plants prior to April 19, 2006. The forfeiture resulted from an extensive investigation by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

William Ortiz Lazaro, 31, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced to 135 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the armed robbery of two stores.

Marc Knapp, 35, of Simi Valley, Calif., pleaded guilty today to engaging in a seven-month course of criminal conduct involving illegal exports to Hungary and attempted exports to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia. This guilty plea resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Since its activation in Sacramento County a year ago, the biometric information-sharing capability deployed as part of the Secure Communities initiative has resulted in the identification and removal of more than 460 convicted criminal aliens from the United States who were encountered by local law enforcement in Sacramento County.

Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) on Tuesday seized 15 AK 47 assault type rifles that were discovered hidden inside a pickup truck.

Alexander Steele, 47, of Philadelphia, and Christopher J. Hahn, 48, of Edgewater, N.J., pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to charges in connection with a scheme that involved bribes to driver's license examiners in exchange for fraudulent driver's licenses.

Timothy Edward Dawson, 44, of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., was sentenced to 14 years in prison following an investigation led by U.S. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). When approached by the Martin County deputies on Sept. 4, 2010, Dawson threw two weighted dive bags overboard from the vessel he was operating. When divers recovered them...

Jamie Hall, 37, a tech sergeant stationed at Dover Air Force Base, was sentenced to 72 months in prison for receipt of child pornography, in violation of federal law. Hall also was sentenced to 5 years of supervised release, which will commence following his prison term. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction...

Two male Canadian nationals are in custody facing state drug charges after agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and local police executed a search warrant at a warehouse here Wednesday night and found more than 103 pounds of cocaine and approximately $2.4M in cash inside a locked safe.

Donald Earl Marsh, 62, was sentenced Jan. 12 by Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head to 216 months in federal prison without parole, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, a $25,000 fine and registering as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

A Benton County, Iowa, dairy farmer was convicted Tuesday of one count of knowingly employing illegal aliens. The convictions are the culmination of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and local Iowa law enforcement.

Timothy Sorrell, 62, was arrested Tuesday by the Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) Criminal and Special Investigations Division (SID) and special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on charges relating to the possession of child pornography and marijuana.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation into an international weapons trafficking organization operating in the United States and Central and South America has lead to the arrest of six individuals in Colombia charged in the Southern District of Florida.

Richard Pope is accused of taking part in a 130M dollar international fraud and money laundering scheme

On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a federal information-sharing capability in all Wisconsin counties that helps federal immigration officials use biometrics to identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime.

Steven Tadlock, 45, was sentenced to 72 months in prison on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges Jan. 11. Tadlock distributed images over the Internet to other users and engaged in chats with other users about how to "groom" children for sexual activity.

On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a federal information-sharing capability in Saline County that helps federal immigration officials use biometrics to identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime.

Museum tour and discourse lead ICE to examine and reaffirm core values

Timothy Dwayne Glenn, 44, of Bakersfield, is scheduled to be sentenced Mary 21. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.