News Releases and Statements

If convicted, Gary Dale Thrasher, 56, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud counts, a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for the passport fraud offenses, and a two-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.  

On March 20, 2024, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Robert Davis, a 67-year-old naturalized citizen of the United States, born in Malaysia, with naturalization fraud.

On Jan. 11, Nino Valmeo, 47, was sentenced to three years of supervised release with the first six months on home confinement after pleading guilty in August 2023.

Jaiprakash Gulvady, 51, of Land O’ Lakes, pleaded guilty to procuring citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, misusing evidence of citizenship or naturalization, making false statements in a passport application, and using a passport secured by false statements.

ERO designed and launched Operation False Haven in late 2019 to identify and target child sexual abusers and other egregious felons who were convicted after naturalizing for offenses they committed and concealed during the naturalization process.

Nora Nely Avila, 35, pleaded guilty Jan. 3 after she fraudulently presented a nursing license.

Engilbert Ulan, 42, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles, was convicted of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 6, 2024.

Sinisa Djurdjic, 50, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was found guilty by a jury on May 19 after a nine-day trial.

Sammy Adam Joseph, 47, was charged in an eight-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, Nov. 8. That indictment was unsealed and made public Nov. 14 upon his arrest and initial court appearance.

According to court documents, Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, portrayed herself to be a USCIS employee and defrauded numerous undocumented noncitizen victims and their family members by falsely representing that she would process their immigration applications for a substantial fee.

The roster included Sinisa Djurdjic’s name; Djurdjic immigrated to the United States in 2000. HSI discovered that, on various U.S. immigration applications, Djurdjic had denied serving in foreign military and police units.

U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Cruz Miguel Aguina, 40, to eight months in prison following a guilty plea to immigration fraud. Aguina was also judicially denaturalized as a U.S. citizen.

Loredana Angel, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court April 13 to felony charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and illegal reentry of an alien. Daniel Rostas, 30, pleaded guilty Wednesday, and Legenda Rostas, 28, pleaded guilty March 1 to the same charges. Angel and Legenda Rostas told authorities that they are sisters and that the Rostas are married.

According to court documents, Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, portrayed herself to be a USCIS employee and defrauded numerous noncitizen victims and their family members by falsely representing that she would process their immigration applications for a substantial fee.

HSI Kansas City acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho and U.S. Attorney Steven A. Russell announced that Cristian Yanira Ruiz-Cardona, 28, was sentenced on April 6, 2023 in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for use of immigration documents not lawfully issued, false representation of a Social Security number with intent to deceive, and making a false claim to U.S. citizenship.

A federal grand jury indicted Davey Hines, 30, of Naperville, on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail, four counts of unauthorized access device fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in February 2021 for events that occurred between June 2018 and December 2019.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Herbert Leonel Diaz, 53, a naturalized citizen of the United States who was born in El Salvador and previously resided in Henderson, to serve eight months in prison for naturalization fraud Feb. 1.

On March 16, a federal jury in Charlotte convicted Gregory Maxwell Palmer, 48, a naturalized citizen of Jamaica, of naturalization fraud. U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney presided over the two-day trial.

On March 23, Chief United States District Judge Richard E. Myers II sentenced Manuel Alejandro Vitela-Romero, 36, a citizen of Mexico residing in Johnston County, to time served plus one year of supervised release.

Ana Hernandez, 53, faces criminal charges related to her alleged wire fraud and impersonation of a federal employee. She portrayed herself to be a USCIS employee and defrauded more than 20 victims by providing false pretense that she would process immigration applications for a substantial fee.

According to court documents, Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, portrayed herself to be a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) employee and defrauded more than 20 victims by providing them the false pretext that she would process their immigration applications for a substantial fee.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Martin Alonzo Castro, 42, of Fremont was sentenced Jan. 6 in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to produce and transfer fraudulent documents following an HSI and joint law enforcement investigation.

Perla Vidalez, 39, was arrested at her Lower Valley home, from where she operated an immigration preparation business. Her clients would supply Vidalez with the required immigration paperwork for submission to USCIS, and even though they didn’t qualify for an application fee waiver, Vidalez is charged with altering the paperwork to show they did qualify for one.

Ashley Yen Nguyen, 58, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $334,605 in fines. Nguyen pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 5, 2020. As part of her plea, she admitted to conspiring to engage in marriage fraud, mail fraud, immigration fraud, money laundering and making false statements in a tax return.

Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Katherine Greer and Acting United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Luis Alberto Castro-Santos, 35, of Pomona, California, and Tomas De La Cruz-Perez, 37, of Fremont, Nebraska, were sentenced Oct. 21, in federal court in Omaha for Conspiracy to Produce and Transfer Fraudulent Documents.