I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week 12/9/16
I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week
01/06/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
OPERATIONAL
ICE Office of Community Engagement already hard at work in 2017
A critical part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mission is to increase local and national understanding of the agency and foster trust and collaboration in communities across the United States.
01/05/2017
GREENBELT, MD
TRANSNATIONAL GANGS
MS-13 member sentenced to life in federal prison
Eric Antonio Mejia-Ramos, aka “Flaco,” age 22, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced today to life in prison, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including participating in a murder. On January 4, 2017, Luis Guzman-Ventura, a/k/a “Casper,” age 23, of Hyattsville was sentenced to 360 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, on the same charge.
01/04/2017
FORT WORTH, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
North Texas man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography
On Dec. 30, 2016, U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Robert Eugene Sanders, 74, of Hood County, Texas, to 360 months in federal prison, fined him $10,000, and ordered him to pay nearly $65,000 in restitution. Sanders pleaded guilty in July 2016 to one count of producing child pornography.
01/03/2017
PHILADELPHIA, PA
OPERATIONAL
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St. Joe's alum named special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia
As special agent in charge, Miller, a 25-year veteran of federal law enforcement, oversees nearly 200 federal agents, intelligence analysts, and professional administrative staff across six HSI offices throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware.
https://www.ice.gov/news/top-stories...week&created=1
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I.C.E. News Releases
01/06/2017
WASHINGTON, DC
OPERATIONAL
ICE Office of Community Engagement already hard at work in 2017
A critical part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mission is to increase local and national understanding of the agency and foster trust and collaboration in communities across the United States.
01/06/2017
HYATTSVILLE, MD
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
ICE arrests former Guatemalan special forces member linked to 1980s massacre
Jose Mardoqueo Ortiz Morales, 54, was arrested by special agents from HSI’s Baltimore office. As a former member of an elite Guatemalan army unit known as the Kaibiles, Ortiz Morales is wanted in his native country on criminal charges for murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Dos Erres massacre.
01/05/2017
BOSTON, MA
FINANCIAL CRIMES
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ICE Boston seizes nearly $20 million, arrests Brazilian national in money laundering scheme linked to TelexFree
Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, a Brazilian national living in Westborough, Massachusetts, was charged via criminal complaint with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering. Rocha was ordered detained following an appearance Thursday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein.
01/05/2017
LAS CRUCES, NM
CHILD EXPLOITATION
New Mexico man to be sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography
William Allen Patterson, 34, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, will be sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his sentence.
01/05/2017
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
NARCOTICS
Illegal alien sentenced in New Mexico to more than 7 years for trafficking methamphetamine on Navajo Indian Reservation
Luis Rangel Arce and his co-defendants Miguel Rangel Arce, 36, and Rogelio Santiago Quiroa-Valdez, also Mexican nationals, were among eight San Juan County, New Mexico, residents charged with federal narcotics trafficking.
01/05/2017
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
NARCOTICS
Mexican man sentenced in New Mexico to more than 4 years in federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking
Massiel Segoviano-Fierro and his co-defendant Juan Carlos Nieblas-Ruelas, 28, also a Mexican national illegally residing in the United States, were arrested in November 2015. Both were charged Nov. 23, 2015, by criminal complaint with conspiracy and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.
01/05/2017
GREENBELT, MD
TRANSNATIONAL GANGS
MS-13 member sentenced to life in federal prison
Eric Antonio Mejia-Ramos, aka “Flaco,” age 22, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced today to life in prison, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including participating in a murder. On January 4, 2017, Luis Guzman-Ventura, a/k/a “Casper,” age 23, of Hyattsville was sentenced to 360 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, on the same charge.
01/04/2017
NAMPA, ID
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Boise-area man receives 30 months on child pornography charges
Troy A. Paul, 48, pleaded guilty Aug. 16 admitting to viewing images of child pornography on a Russian photo sharing website several times between January and June 2014. Paul further confessed to viewing child pornography emailed to him approximately 100 times using the iPhone assigned by his employer.
01/04/2017
NAMPA, ID
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Boise-area man pleads guilty to child exploitation charges
Fernando Morales, 50, was initially contacted Aug. 23 at his residence by the Nampa Police Department after a 16-year-old called 911.
01/04/2017
FORT WORTH, TX
CHILD EXPLOITATION
North Texas man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography
On Dec. 30, 2016, U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced Robert Eugene Sanders, 74, of Hood County, Texas, to 360 months in federal prison, fined him $10,000, and ordered him to pay nearly $65,000 in restitution. Sanders pleaded guilty in July 2016 to one count of producing child pornography.
01/04/2017
KANSAS CITY, KS
DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD
Iraqi national sentenced in Kansas to 2 years in federal prison for visa fraud
Goran Sabah Ghafour, 35, who had been living in Lawrence, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of visa fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
01/03/2017
PHILADELPHIA, PA
OPERATIONAL
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St. Joe's alum named special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia
As special agent in charge, Miller, a 25-year veteran of federal law enforcement, oversees nearly 200 federal agents, intelligence analysts, and professional administrative staff across six HSI offices throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware.
12/30/2016
WASHINGTON, DC
OPERATIONAL
DHS releases end of fiscal year 2016 statistics
Overall, in FY 2016, the Department apprehended 530,250 individuals nationwide and conducted a total of 450,954 removals and returns. The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) reported 415,816 apprehensions nationwide, compared to 337,117 in FY 2015; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 114,434 individuals, compared to 125,211 in FY 2015.
12/28/2016
HOUSTON, TX
FINANCIAL CRIMES
4 businessman, 2 foreign officials plead guilty in connection with bribes paid to Mexican aviation officials
In total, Ray, Valdez Pinon, Ramnarine, Perez and their co-conspirators paid more than $2 million in bribes to Mexican officials, including Hernandez Montemayor and Nevarez, in order to secure aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul contracts.
12/28/2016
HARRISBURG, PA
CHILD EXPLOITATION
Army Colonel sentenced to 12 years in prison for child pornography charges
Colonel Robert J. Rice, 58 was arrested in May 2014 following an HSI led investigation of his online activities. In May 2016, following a five-day jury trial, Rice was found guilty for knowingly possessing child pornography from Aug. 2010 through Jan. 29, 2013, and receiving and distributing child pornography through the internet from Jan. 23, 2013 through Jan. 28, 2013.
12/28/2016
WASHINGTON, DC
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE removes man wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide
Emilio Coreas-Avelar, 24, an alleged MS-13 gang member, was arrested at his residence in Burke, Virginia, where he admitted he was a citizen of El Salvador and illegally present in the U.S. At that point in time, ERO officers served him a notice to appear in immigration court. In September, an immigration judge ordered Coreas-Avelar removed from the U.S. to El Salvador
12/27/2016
PHILADELPHIA, PA
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE deports Congolese man wanted on vehicle trafficking, fraud, forgery, and falsification charges
Dandy Somwe Kapila, 29, has an active warrant for his arrest on charges of trafficking in stolen vehicles, fraud, forgery, and falsification charges, issued by Congolese law enforcement.
12/23/2016
NEWARK, NJ
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
ICE removes convicted child rapist to Ecuador
Manuel Fernando Cajamarca-Curillo, 25, the subject of an Interpol warrant of arrest in Ecuador for the rape of a minor, was ordered removed by a U.S. immigration judge in November. He is also under investigation in Ecuador for the rape and murder of another minor.
12/22/2016
DETROIT, MI
ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL
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ICE arrests 74 in 2-state enforcement operation targeting convicted criminals
During the 11-day enforcement action, ERO officers apprehended 71 aliens with criminal convictions. The remaining three fall under the agency’s enforcement priorities as recent immigration violators. Those arrested had criminal histories with past convictions for drug trafficking, DUI, weapons violations, fraud, domestic violence, burglary and other serious criminal offenses.
12/21/2016
BOSTON, MA
DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD
Massachusetts woman sentenced for identity theft, benefit fraud
Sandra McDonald, 51, a Jamaican national living in Fall River, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 27 months in prison. McDonald previously pleaded guilty in September 2016, to passport fraud, theft of public money, and misrepresenting a Social Security number. She has been held in custody since her arrest in May 2016.
12/21/2016
NEW YORK, NY
CULTURAL PROPERTY, ART AND ANTIQUITIES INVESTIGATIONS
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Italy's Uffizi Gallery recognizes specialized ICE program
A new exhibit of repatriated cultural property, including paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and vases, recently debuted at the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Scheduled to be on display for the next two months, the entire exhibition, comprising more than 250 items, is dedicated to pieces that were stolen or otherwise missing but have since been recovered and repatriated back to Italy.
12/21/2016
SHERMAN, TX
DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD
North Texas man convicted of visa fraud and harboring illegal aliens
David Allen Anderton was found guilty by a jury on multiple counts of harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy, and visa fraud.
12/21/2016
LOS ANGELES, CA
HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
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Long Beach sex offender indicted for attempted child sex trafficking and using the internet to entice a minor
Victor James Sporman, 46, who previously resided in Bellflower, was named in a two-count indictment returned Tuesday afternoon by a federal grand jury. The indictment charges Sporman with attempted sex trafficking of a child and using the internet to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
12/20/2016
CHICAGO, IL
CONTRABAND
Ohio man indicted in first Chicago-area federal prosecution for distributing the synthetic opiod 'carfentanil'
Clifford Reed, 27, of Cincinnati, Ohio, allegedly purchased multi-kilogram quantities of heroin from various sources in Chicago; He then allegedly mixed it with carfentanil to increase the amount of heroin he could distribute. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid listed federally as a Schedule II controlled substance.
12/20/2016
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS
Bosnian national arrested for fraudulently obtaining citizenship
Alexander Kneginich, 56, was arrested Monday near Kalamazoo, Michigan, by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after being indicted on a felony charge of having fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship after he emigrated from Bosnia-Herzegovina to the United States.
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