I.C.E. News Releases


02/08/2019

TAMPA, FL

HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


ICE Tampa announces human trafficking awareness campaign
ICE's HSI office partnered with Clear Channel Outdoor on a Tampa Bay area human trafficking awareness outreach campaign utilizing billboards across the region.



02/08/2019

LOS ANGELES, CA



CONTRABAND


US and Australian authorities intercept 1.7 tons of methamphetamine bound for Australia from Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport
The drugs, which consisted of three containers targeted for inspection, were seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport by officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on January 11 – intercepting the shipment before it could reach Australian shores.



02/08/2019

PHOENIX, AZ



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


Phoenix ERO repatriates Guatemalan national wanted for homicide
Funes-Herrera, 52, came into ICE custody Sept. 5, 2018, after apprehension by the U.S. Border Patrol. At that time, he was detained, and placed into removal proceedings.



02/08/2019

FORT WORTH, TX



NATIONAL SECURITY


North Texas man charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization
Michael Kyle Sewell, 18, was charged Feb. 8 by criminal complaint with conspiring to provide material support and resources to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based foreign terrorist organization.




02/07/2019

BOSTON, MA



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


ICE HSI Boston special agent leads presentation at large anti-human trafficking networking, education event in western Massachusetts
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Boston Special Agent Michael Morizio was the featured presenterat a well-attended Feb. 5, anti-human trafficking professionals networking and education event hosted by the western Massachusetts division of the Office of the Massachusetts State Attorney General, which focused on effective practices in the identificationand combatting of human trafficking in Springfield. Massachusetts.



02/07/2019

HOUSTON, TX



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


Honduran child sex offender charged in Houston with illegally re-entering US
Marvin Yovani Mejia-Ramos – aka Martin Jose Romos-Ramirez, aka Ricardo Rodriguez-Morales – 50, an illegal alien from Honduras who has used multiple aliases and countries of origin, was charged Feb. 6 with illegal re-entry by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.



02/06/2019

WASHINGTON, DC



HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS


ICE, DOJ recognize International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a federal crime, and any involvement in committing this crime is a serious human rights violation which may result in imprisonment and potential removal from the United States. Individuals suspected of FGM/C, including sending girls overseas to be cut, may be investigated by the HRVWCC and prosecuted accordingly.



02/05/2019

SCRANTON, PA



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Pennsylvania man sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for receiving child pornography
Michael Portanova, age 28, admitted that he used his cell phone to receive images and videos of child pornography, using a file-sharing network on the internet between August 2017 and Oct. 30, 2017, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.




02/01/2019

LOS ANGELES, CA



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


One of ICE's "most wanted" aliens indicted for illegally re-entering the US following deportation
Santos Moreira, 46, a citizen of Belize illegally present in the United States, was found in Los Angeles County on November 2, 2015, according to an indictment returned against him on January 25 by a federal grand jury.



02/01/2019

CHICAGO, IL



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Chicago-area musician pleads guilty to enticing underage girls to produce sexually explicit videos
Austin Jones, 26, of Bloomingdale, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.



02/01/2019

TULSA, OK



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former Oklahoma teacher admits creating sexually violent images of children using photographs downloaded from Facebook
At the plea hearing, Jerry Matthew Berry admitted to producing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children and distributing child pornography in 2017 and 2018. Cyber Crimes detectives from Tulsa Police Department and HSI special agents discovered Berry’s illicit activities during a peer-to-peer file-sharing undercover investigation.



01/31/2019

SANTA ANA, CA



DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD


Federal prosecutors unseal indictments naming 19 people linked to Chinese 'birth tourism' schemes that helped thousands of aliens give birth in US to secure birthright citizenship for their children
The indictments charge operators and clients of three “maternity house” or “birthing house” schemes that were dismantled in March 2015 when federal agents executed 35 search warrants, which resulted from international undercover operations.




01/31/2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Indiana high school swim coach sentenced to nearly 17 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting student athlete
John Goelz, 30, exploited his position of trust and authority with one of his student athletes, a minor, for his own sexual gratification.



01/31/2019

MUSKOGEE, OK



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Oklahoma man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography
Ryan Edward Offineer, 41, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment, 15 years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay $8,500 in restitution to the victim(s) for possessing child pornography.



01/31/2019

PHOENIX, AZ



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE removes Honduran national wanted for homicide in his home country
Rigoberto Calderon-Villeda, 26, came into ICE custody July 30, 2018, after apprehension by the U.S. Border Patrol. At that time, he was detained for illegal entry, and placed into removal proceedings.



01/31/2019

ATLANTA, GA



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


ICE, CBP operation nets over $24 million in fake sports-related merchandise
Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, Atlanta police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIII. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.




01/30/2019

DETROIT, MI



STUDENT AND EXCHANGE VISITOR PROGRAM


8 individuals indicted for exploiting the US student visa system
Charged in the indictments were: Barath Kakireddy, 29, of Lake Mary; Suresh Kandala, 31, of Culpeper; Phanideep Karnati, 35, of Louisville, Kentucky; Prem Rampeesa, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Santosh Sama, 28, of Fremont, California; Avinash Thakkallapally, 28, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Aswanth Nune, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Naveen Prathipati, 26, of Dallas, Texas.



01/30/2019

NEW YORK, NY



FINANCIAL CRIMES


ICE HSI arrest 2 for fraud targeting actors and others
Thomas Irigoyen and Nicholas Ofei Cofie were charged with conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud actors in New York City and elsewhere. Irigoyen was arrested in California and will be presented today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the Central District of California, and Cofie was arrested in New York City and presented in federal court in Manhattan.



01/29/2019

NEW YORK, NY



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE arrests 118 during Operation Cross Check in New York
During the operation, ICE’s ERO arrested 118 individuals for violating U.S. immigration laws. Of those arrested, more than 107 were convicted criminals or had criminal charges pending, more than 55 had been issued a final order of removal and failed to depart the United States, or had been previously removed from the United States and returned illegally. Several had prior felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as child sex crimes, weapons charges, and assault, or had past convictions for significant or multiple misdemeanors.



01/28/2019

ADDISON, IL



FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES


Chicago-area man sentenced to 7 years for unlawfully possessing fully automatic weapons, grenades in a storage locker
Juan A. Mexicano, 33, of Addison, Illinois, was sentenced Friday to seven years imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On Aug. 24, 2018, he pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of unlawfully using a weapon. In December 2018, he was also sentenced in California to more than 11 years in federal prison on a related cocaine trafficking conviction.




01/28/2019

NEW YORK, NY



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng charged with financial fraud
Huawei and Skycom are charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to violate and substantive violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Huawei and Huawei USA are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice related to the grand jury investigation in the Eastern District of New York. Meng is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.



01/25/2019

FARGO, ND



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Previously convicted Las Vegas sex offender sentenced in North Dakota to 45 years in federal prison for sexually abusing infant
Bryan James Hogle, 43, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to serve 45 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Hogle also has a prior conviction for sexually abusing a child in New Hampshire in 2008.



01/17/2019

LOS ANGELES, CA



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


Los Angeles-area electronics distributor pleads guilty to selling counterfeit integrated circuits with military and commercial uses
Rogelio Vasquez, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit military goods, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, and one count of wire fraud.



12/21/2018

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT


Albuquerque business teams up with ICE to become 'IMAGE' partner
New Mexico Emergency Products (NMEP), an emergency vehicle up-fitter and fleet management company, joined ICE’s employment-compliance program — a voluntary partnership that helps employers maintain a lawful workforce, and reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents.




12/21/2018

TAMPA, FL



CHILD EXPLOITATION


ICE HSI seeks public's help to identify additional victims in child exploitation case
Kyle Dale Ritsema, 36, of Land O’Lakes, pleaded guilty today to producing, distributing and possessing child pornography. He was arrested Feb. 13 by HSI special agents.

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