I.C.E. Top Stories: Last Week


07/14/2016

NEW YORK, NY

FINANCIAL CRIMES

Clothing importer, manufacturer to pay $13 million fine for evading customs duties
Motives Far East and Motives China Limited admitted to and accepted responsibility for under-reporting the value of its imported merchandise and agreed to pay nearly $13.4 million to the United States under the False Claims Act.



07/13/2016

WASHINGTON, DC

FINANCIAL CRIMES


Catch ICE HSI special agents on CNBC's 'American Greed'
The show features the agency’s efforts to bring down a Jamaican lottery scam, in which perpetrators call U.S. citizens and inform them that they have won the lottery. Through this deception, the perpetrators attempt to convince the victims — most often the elderly — that they must first pay a fee in order to receive their winnings.



07/13/2016

NEW YORK, NY

OPERATIONAL


ICE names new special agent in charge to lead New York City Homeland Security Investigations
As the special agent in charge, Melendez supervises a cadre of special agents responsible for investigating and enforcing more than 400 customs and immigration laws, including conducting major narcotics, financial and trade, gang, and intellectual property rights, human smuggling, and child porn investigations. Melendez was born in Manhattan and at 12 years-old moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico.



07/13/2016

TULSA, OK

NARCOTICS


6 arrested in Tulsa during multi-agency operation targeting heroin traffickers
In addition to the six people arrested, the following items were seized: $106,505 in suspected drug proceeds, three firearms (one stolen, and one illegally possessed by a convicted felon) two vehicles, and 13 ounces of black tar heroin.


07/12/2016

FARGO, ND

CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former head of North Dakota medical school sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing, distributing child pornography
Robert William Beattie, 56, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 12 years in federal prison, and to 10 years of supervised release. Judge Erickson also sentenced Beattie to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims' Fund, plus an additional $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

https://www.ice.gov/news/top-stories...week&created=1

===================================


I.C.E. News Releases


07/15/2016

ATLANTA, GA

ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE removes MS-13 gang leader, felon wanted in El Salvador
Juan Otero-Navarro, 36, entered ERO custody Oct. 23 following his release from federal prison and was transferred to the Stewart County Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Otero was convicted in September 2015 on a felony charge of illegally reentering the United States after a prior removal in May 2011. Otero was also convicted on felony forgery charges in Fairfax County, Virginia, in February 2011



07/14/2016

PHOENIX, AZ

CHILD EXPLOITATION

Glendale man ordered to serve 20 years in prison for child sexual exploitation
Phillip Carnevale, 56, was convicted in state court of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in an investigation lead by HSI that began three years ago. After receiving a tip in August 2013, HSI special agents determined the defendant had emailed more than 70 images of child sexual abuse to numerous individuals.



07/14/2016

CHICAGO, IL



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Illinois man charged with possessing child pornography
Anthony Rutten, 26, of Joliet, Illinois, was charged July 14 in Will County Circuit Court with two counts of possessing child pornography, a class 2 felony punishable by up to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.



07/14/2016

NEW YORK, NY



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Clothing importer, manufacturer to pay $13 million fine for evading customs duties
Motives Far East and Motives China Limited admitted to and accepted responsibility for under-reporting the value of its imported merchandise and agreed to pay nearly $13.4 million to the United States under the False Claims Act.




07/14/2016

ALBANY, NY



DOCUMENT AND BENEFIT FRAUD


3 sentenced in upstate New York marriage fraud scheme
Gaurav Mehta, 36, and Isha Mehta, 33, both citizens of India, were sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, following jury convictions for marriage and immigration fraud.



07/13/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Catch ICE HSI special agents on CNBC's 'American Greed'
The show features the agency’s efforts to bring down a Jamaican lottery scam, in which perpetrators call U.S. citizens and inform them that they have won the lottery. Through this deception, the perpetrators attempt to convince the victims — most often the elderly — that they must first pay a fee in order to receive their winnings.



07/13/2016

ALBANY, NY



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


ICE removes former Guatemalan police officer wanted for deadly robbery in home country
Kenedy Agileo Pineda-Morales, 41, was arrested by authorities without incident April 13, in Saratoga Springs, New York. A preliminary investigation determined that Pineda-Morales was living under an assumed name in the area. Authorities confirmed his true identity using biometric information and photos.



07/13/2016

NEW YORK, NY



OPERATIONAL


ICE names new special agent in charge to lead New York City Homeland Security Investigations
As the special agent in charge, Melendez supervises a cadre of special agents responsible for investigating and enforcing more than 400 customs and immigration laws, including conducting major narcotics, financial and trade, gang, and intellectual property rights, human smuggling, and child porn investigations. Melendez was born in Manhattan and at 12 years-old moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico.




07/13/2016

PHILADELPHIA, PA



NARCOTICS


Convicted felon sentenced to 10 years on weapons, drug trafficking charges
Jermaine McClary, 40, of Reading, Pa., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release. McClary was arrested by HSI special agents in April 2015 during the HSI-led Project Wildfire, an enforcement effort targeting gang activity.



07/13/2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX



CONTRABAND


Former southwest Texas police officer sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for drug trafficking
A former police officer from southwest Texas was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in federal prison for trafficking cocaine through his auto body shop.



07/13/2016

TULSA, OK



NARCOTICS


6 arrested in Tulsa during multi-agency operation targeting heroin traffickers
In addition to the six people arrested, the following items were seized: $106,505 in suspected drug proceeds, three firearms (one stolen, and one illegally possessed by a convicted felon) two vehicles, and 13 ounces of black tar heroin.



07/12/2016

BOSTON, MA



TRANSNATIONAL GANGS


Founder of MS-13 in Massachusetts sentenced for illegal re-entry
Carlos Geovanni Martinez-Aguilar, 38, originally of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to three years in prison and two years of supervised release. In April 2016, Martinez-Aguilar pleaded guilty to unlawful re-entry of a deported alien.




07/12/2016

FARGO, ND



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former head of North Dakota medical school sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing, distributing child pornography
Robert William Beattie, 56, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 12 years in federal prison, and to 10 years of supervised release. Judge Erickson also sentenced Beattie to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims' Fund, plus an additional $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.



07/08/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


41 arrested in multinational human smuggling takedown in Central America and South America
“Operation Mesoamerica” was a 15-month multinational investigation that began with a tip from the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Attaché Office in Merida, Mexico, and ended Tuesday, June 28, with the arrest of 27 individuals throughout Central America. A second human smuggling investigation yielded 14 arrests on Monday, June 27, in Colombia.



07/08/2016

WASHINGTON, DC



FINANCIAL CRIMES


US returns $1.5 million in forfeitures to family of former president of Taiwan
According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars (equivalent to approximately $6 million U.S. dollars) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bian’s administration.



07/07/2016

ALBUQUERQUE, NM



FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES


NM felon sentenced to more than 6 years for unlawfully possessing firearm, ammunition
Francisco Roberto Esquibel, Jr., 34, was charged in a criminal complaint filed June 11, 2015, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to the complaint, APD officers found the firearm while arresting Esquibel on an outstanding warrant.




07/07/2016

SAN FRANCISCO, CA



FINANCIAL CRIMES


Bay Area resident pleads guilty to operating interstate prostitution scheme
Allen Fong, 59, of San Mateo, is one of 10 defendants named in a far-reaching indictment filed Oct. 16, 2014. Fong pleaded guilty to all 32 counts charged in the indictment after acknowledging his role in an enterprise that recruited Asian women and facilitated their travel into the U.S. to work as prostitutes in brothels located in the Bay Area.



07/07/2016

SAN JUAN, <acronym title="Google Page Ranking">PR</acronym>



INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS


ICE, partners seize $6.5 million in counterfeit goods in Puerto Rico
During the operation, HSI special agents and partner law enforcement officers targeted 14 retailers of counterfeit goods infringing on the trademarks of Gucci, Michael Kors, Prada, Channel, Ray Ban, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Oakley, Nike, Ray Ban and the National Basketball Association.



07/07/2016

TAMPA, FL



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Tampa man sentenced to 50 years for child sexual exploitation offenses
The FDLE began an investigation into Donald Daniel Robinson, 30, of Tampa after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. On July 8, 2015, agents from FDLE and ICE HSI executed a search warrant at Robinson's home where multiple images of child pornography, including images of local children, were found.



07/06/2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX



HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING


Northwest Texas man sentenced to life in prison for human smuggling that led to the torture of several victims
Eduardo Rocha, Sr., aka “Lalo,” was sentenced July 6 by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses to life in prison. In addition to the prison term, Judge Moses ordered Rocha to pay $10,481.20 in restitution to his victims and forfeit to the government his real property located in Carrizo Springs, Texas where the crimes were committed.




07/06/2016

MADISON, WI



ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL


4-time deported Mexican man sentenced in Wisconsin to nearly 4 years in federal prison for illegally re-entering US
Rolando Reyes-Cruz, 49, a Mexico national who was residing in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, was sentenced July 6 by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to 46 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported, which is a felony.



07/05/2016

FRESNO, CA



NARCOTICS


Defendants charged in large-scale Sierra National Forest marijuana grow appear in court
Francisco Javier Gomez-Rodriguez, 38, of Pihuamo, Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to three years and five months in prison and ordered to pay $8,750 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service.



07/05/2016

LUBBOCK, TX



CHILD EXPLOITATION


West Texas man sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for transporting child pornography
According to documents filed in his case, Nicholas Daniel Glass, 34, of San Angelo, Texas, used his cellular telephone and a laptop computer to possess and access images of one or more minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.



07/05/2016

FORT WORTH, TX



CHILD EXPLOITATION


Former Fort Worth high school teacher arrested on federal felony child pornography charge
Matthew Anthony Keller, 24, of Watauga, Texas, made his initial appearance in federal court July 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, who ordered that he remain in custody pending a detention hearing set for July 6.




07/02/2016

NEWARK, NJ



COUNTER PROLIFERATION INVESTIGATION UNIT


New Jersey man gets nearly 6 years for role in sensitive electronics smuggling network
Alexander Brazhnikov Jr., 37, a naturalized United States citizen born in Moscow, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to smuggle electronics from the United States, and one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Brazhnikov also agreed to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment against him in the amount of $65 million.






Pages