News Releases and Statements

ERO Miami encountered David Jean Charles Pena Melo at the Florida Department of Corrections’ Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry. He was convicted in March 2018 for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a noncitizen for an aggravated felony, a law relating to murder, rape or sexual abuse of a minor.

According to public documents, officials identified William Estuardo Lemus-Lara, aka Humilde, 51, as the leader of a transcontinental criminal organization that moved tons of cocaine from South America via maritime smuggling routes to conspirators in northwest Guatemala and Mexico. Conspirators then smuggled the drugs into the United States.

Deportation officers with ERO Boston arrested Myrat Mahadev, a 35-year-old citizen of Turkmenistan, in Vermont on Jan. 30. Muhadov, a noncitizen fugitive, had an active arrest warrant in Turkmenistan for charges related to financial crimes.

The sentence stems from Brandon Goodsell’s convictions of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Albert Douglas Ackley, 60, uploaded and shared 10 files containing child sexual abuse material over a mobile messaging app.

Maria Botello-Morales, a 56-year-old Mexican national illegally residing in Houston, pleaded guilty Jan. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking; sex trafficking with force, fraud or coercion; and sex trafficking of a minor.

Jose Matilde Rico Sanchez, a 48-year-old Mexican fugitive, who illegally entered the U.S. to avoid prosecution for an alleged homicide in Mexico is handed over by ICE officers to Mexican law enforcement authorities Jan. 30 at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in, Laredo, Texas.

Norman Moore, aka Lynn Brown, received the sentence in December 2022 at the U.S. District Court of Maryland for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine and for illegally reentering the U.S. having been previously removed.

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.

Edgar Omar Guzman Ferrera, a 25-year-old unlawfully present Honduran fugitive, was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE's Air Operations Unit to the Ramon Villeda International Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Upon arrival, he was handed over to Honduran law enforcement authorities.

A judge sentenced Jacob Chance Greer, 27, of Des Moines to 20 years in prison for knowingly receiving child pornography.

According to the indictment unsealed Thursday, Jugoslav Vidic, 55, allegedly made multiple false statements in his successful application to become a lawful permanent resident, including falsely stating that his only past military service was in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989 and omitting his service in the Serb Army of Krajina and its predecessors from 1991 to 1995.

Paublo Rueben, a 41-year-old resident of Pharr, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 20 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to sell narcotics to undercover law enforcement officials. Ruben pleaded guilty to the charges July 27, 2022.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and U.S. Attorney Steven Russell announced that on Jan. 27, a federal jury in the District of Nebraska found Omaha resident Gilberto Aguilar-Beltran, 46, guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Ryon Travis, 39, was convicted of production of child pornography and sex trafficking after a jury trial in July 2022. Travis was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman.

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.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. recognized five special agents and one group supervisor from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service Jan. 19 during the 2022 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Awards in Washington, D.C.

A federal court convicted Christopher William Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, Washington, Tuesday, while co-defendants, Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio; Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin pleaded guilty to their roles in the enterprise.

New Hampshire State Police arrested Ronal Rodriguez-Fuentes, a 40-year-old Honduran citizen, for vehicular violations. At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez was the subject of an active criminal warrant in Honduras for human trafficking charges.

Officials removed Mendez Gomez via ground transportation with assistance from ERO Harlingen, turning him over to Mexican authorities at the port of entry in Brownsville, Texas. 

On Jan. 19, officers with the ERO Harlingen fugitive operations team arrested Carlos Mauricio Zavala, a citizen of El Salvador, in Edinburg.

The symposium coincided with National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Wear Blue Day. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations and community partners participated.

Dakotah James Gilmore, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Aaron Joseph Kearney, 50, of Lincoln, to 13 years imprisonment for possession of child pornography on Jan. 20.

Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that a jury found Dalonte Foard, 25, of Omaha, Nebraska, guilty Jan. 24 after a four-day trial in federal court for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking following an HSI and law enforcement partner investigation.