I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week 11/27/17
I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week
11/22/2017
MADISON, WI
FINANCIAL CRIMES
3 sentenced in Wisconsin cyber romance scheme that bilked $14 million from US and Canadian victims
Richard Ugbah, 36, a Nigerian citizen living in Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 12 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Ugbah was also ordered to forfeit a Mercedes Benz automobile and two bank accounts. Michael Adegoke, 34, a Nigerian citizen living in Chicago, Illinois, was also sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Jon Whipple, 60, from St. Petersburg, Florida, who was initially a victim of a similar romance fraud scheme, but later participated in the scheme by disseminating counterfeit checks in exchange for small amounts of money, was sentenced to five years of probation.
11/22/2017
SPRINGFIELD, MO
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE deports Guatemalan man wanted for killing store owner
Jose Manuel Ohajacao-Ramos, was transferred Nov. 9 to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement officials by ERO officers in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to Guatemalan authorities, Ohajacao-Ramos is accused of fatally shooting a store owner in his store in June 1997. Guatemalan law lists the charge as an assassination.
11/21/2017
LAREDO, TX
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
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Value of life lost in human smuggling
Illegal aliens risk everything when they come across the border. They have no rights, no freedom and are at the mercy of their smugglers or captors.
11/20/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
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ICE fights to protect girls and women from mutilation and abuse
More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation, or cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C refers to cutting and other procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
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I.C.E. News Releases
11/27/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
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ICE targets fake websites on Cyber Monday
Several thousand copyright-infringing website domain names and third-party marketplace links selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals, automotive parts and other fake items to unsuspecting consumers have been criminally and administratively seized and removed in an effort that combines the resources of global law-enforcement agencies and industry.
11/27/2017
NEW YORK, NY
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
55 arrested in New York ICE operation, 42 released from local custody without the immigration detainers being honored
Last week’s arrestees (46 men and 9 women) included nationals from 22 countries – Mexico (20); Jamaica (5), Ecuador (4), Honduras (3), Colombia (2), Dominican Republic (2), El Salvador (2), Guatemala (2), Yemen (2), Bangladesh (1), France (1), Guyana (1), Jordan (1), Nigeria (1), Poland (1), Romania (1), Slovakia (1), Spain (1), Trinidad (1), Yemen (1), Serbia (1), Egypt (1).
11/24/2017
PHOENIX, AZ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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Phoenix ERO repatriates El Salvadoran national wanted for murder
Alexander Jovel-Guillen, 23, aka “El Crimen,” came into ICE custody Oct. 26, 2016, after apprehension by the U.S. Border Patrol. At that time, he was detained for illegal entry and held for removal from the United States.
11/22/2017
SPRINGFIELD, MO
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE deports Guatemalan man wanted for killing store owner
Jose Manuel Ohajacao-Ramos, was transferred Nov. 9 to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement officials by ERO officers in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to Guatemalan authorities, Ohajacao-Ramos is accused of fatally shooting a store owner in his store in June 1997. Guatemalan law lists the charge as an assassination.
11/22/2017
MADISON, WI
FINANCIAL CRIMES
3 sentenced in Wisconsin cyber romance scheme that bilked $14 million from US and Canadian victims
Richard Ugbah, 36, a Nigerian citizen living in Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 12 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Ugbah was also ordered to forfeit a Mercedes Benz automobile and two bank accounts. Michael Adegoke, 34, a Nigerian citizen living in Chicago, Illinois, was also sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Jon Whipple, 60, from St. Petersburg, Florida, who was initially a victim of a similar romance fraud scheme, but later participated in the scheme by disseminating counterfeit checks in exchange for small amounts of money, was sentenced to five years of probation.
11/21/2017
BOSTON, MA
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Former Massachusetts man pleads guilty to child pornography charges, failing to register as sex offender
A former Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to possessing and distributing child pornography, and to failing to register as a sex offender. The offenses stem from two separate cases.
11/21/2017
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA
FINANCIAL CRIMES
5 more people in Iowa plead guilty to fraud scheme targeting elderly
Five people from eastern Iowa pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a scheme to defraud elderly victims across the United States.These guilty pleas resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, (HSI) and the Dubuque (Iowa) Police Department.
11/21/2017
DALLAS, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Registered sex offender from North Texas sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, related offenses
This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Mesquite (Texas) Police Department, and the Burrillville (Rhode Island) Police Department.
11/21/2017
LAREDO, TX
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
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Value of life lost in human smuggling
Illegal aliens risk everything when they come across the border. They have no rights, no freedom and are at the mercy of their smugglers or captors.
11/20/2017
DALLAS, TX
FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES
Dallas man sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for his role in 2015 armed assault on federal officers
In April 2017, Edgar Solorzano, 24, of Dallas, pleaded guilty to the following charges: one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; two counts of assault on a federal officer; and one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2016. On Nov. 20, 2017, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay sentenced him to 231 months in prison.
11/20/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
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ICE fights to protect girls and women from mutilation and abuse
More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation, or cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C refers to cutting and other procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
11/20/2017
NEW YORK, NY
FINANCIAL CRIMES
Head of international energy firm and former foreign minister charged with bribing high-level African officials
Pursuant to a joint investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Chi Ping Patrick Ho, a/k/a “Patrick C.P. Ho,” and Cheikh Gadio were arrested for their participation in a multi-year, multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe high-level officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for business advantages for a Chinese oil and gas company (Energy Company). Ho and Gadio were charged with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), international money laundering, and conspiracy to commit both. Gadio was arrested in New York on Friday and Ho was arrested on Saturday.
11/17/2017
ORLANDO, FL
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
Illegal alien indicted for hampering with ankle monitor
According to court documents, Jose Carlos Hernandez-Lopez, 22, was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after a traffic stop on Sept. 6. At that time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) was operating under an emergency operation due to Hurricane Irma. Based on the emergency operations procedures, the defendant was placed on the Alternates to Detention (ATD) Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) using a GPS ankle bracelet monitoring system and released from ICE ERO custody with instructions to return back to the ERO Office on Sept. 19.
11/17/2017
LUBBOCK, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
West Texas man sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography
U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings remanded Michael Doerr, 45, from San Angelo, Texas, into immediate custody to begin serving his sentence. Doerr pleaded guilty in August 2017 to one count of receiving child pornography.
11/17/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
ICE teams with industry to fight IP theft
The crackdown on counterfeiting intensified this week as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) welcomed Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) industry representatives from multiple sectors, and IP enforcers from across the federal government, to exchange intelligence and develop new strategies in the fight against IP crimes that support transnational criminal organizations and threaten the health and safety of American consumers.
11/17/2017
NEWARK, NJ
FINANCIAL CRIMES
Owners of Miami export business found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and international money laundering
Luis Diaz Jr., 75, and Luis Javier Diaz, 50 were each convicted in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) of one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of international money laundering. Diaz Jr. was also convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
11/16/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
TRANSNATIONAL GANGS
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Local partnerships key to transnational gang investigations
“Operation Raging Bull” was a two-phase operation that targeted dangerous gang members and others providing financial support to gang leadership in El Salvador. It received significant support from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Treasury and international law enforcement partners.
11/16/2017
FORT WORTH, TX
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
2 men charged with witness tampering in North Texas federal criminal complaint
Bruce Trenshel Davis, aka “Wheatie,” 25, of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Brandon Ray Austin, aka “Pep,” 31, of Fort Worth, appeared Wednesday in federal court on a federal criminal complaint stemming from their attempt to threaten witnesses who were cooperating with law enforcement to prosecute a child sex trafficking organization. Demarcus Davis, Kentrell Davis, Pierre Lagrone, Herman Sanders and Reginald Smith were among the eight charged.
11/16/2017
SAN JUAN, <acronym title="Google Page Ranking">PR</acronym>
DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD
Humacao man charged, arrested for impersonating a federal officer
Frank Vega-Marrero, 56, was arrested in Humacao following allegations that he was impersonating an HSI special agent in order to gain access to the Center for Emergency Management (CEM) of the municipal government of Humacao.
11/15/2017
TAMPA, FL
OPERATIONAL
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SAC Tampa graduates new Citizens' Academy
Participants for the academy were nominated by local HSI employees for inclusion in the program. Once nominated, the interested community members had to submit an application and undergo a limited background check before ultimately being selected to participate. The HSI Tampa Citizens’ Academy received more applicants than there were slots available so acceptance was limited, but the office is already looking forward to hosting the next class.
11/15/2017
FORT WORTH, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
North Texas man admits to felony child pornography charges, faces at least 15 years in federal prison
Timothy Paul Malone, 39, of River Oaks, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children. Malone faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 90 years, a total of $750,000 in fines and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Malone has been in custody since the time of indictment in September 2017.
11/14/2017
TOLEDO, OH
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE deports man wanted in Mexico for murder
Jorge Ochoa-Martinez 35, was transferred Nov. 14, to the custody of Mexican law enforcement officials by ERO officers at the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas. According to Mexican authorities, in 2006, Ochoa-Martinez and other suspects are accused of fatally bludgeoning a man with a screw driver. Authorities said the beating lasted for approximately 20 minutes.
11/13/2017
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES
Previously convicted New Mexico felon sentenced for to 6 months in federal prison for firearms, 'stolen valor' convictions
In addition to his prison sentence Anthony Lee Gambino, 45, of Farmington, New Mexico, must serve three years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. According to court filings, Gambino was the owner and operator of Gambino Security Safety Corp., a security company based in Aztec, New Mexico.
11/09/2017
HOUSTON, TX
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
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Veterans Day Spotlight: HSI Houston Special Agent Norman Green
Green began his military career in December 1985 as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army. As he reflects on Veterans Day, he thinks of service to the nation and the opportunity to pay tribute to his fellow soldiers who served with him.
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