News Releases and Statements

The workshop focused on strategies to combat illegal logging and transnational crime in the 200,000 square miles of protected land in the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA), which is comprised of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Saad Ahmed, a Las Vegas businessman, admitted before a U.S. magistrate judge Sept. 5 to conspiracy to traffic counterfeit good, importing counterfeit cellular phone parts and accessories from China for retail to unsuspecting U.S. consumers.

After years of contentious litigation and attempts to obstruct justice, Andrew Franklin Kowalczyk, 44, formerly of Portland, was sentenced today to 270 years in federal prison followed by a life term of supervised release for the repeated sexual abuse, exploitation and torture of three young children.

ERO Atlanta officers arrested an individual from Central America involved in military operation that specifically targeted women and children and an individual from Africa affiliated with a regime directly responsible for human rights atrocities against citizens in his country of origin. The two individuals had already received final orders of removal and will be removed from United States.

ERO Charlotte officers arrested an individual from Central America affiliated with an organization engaged in documented human rights atrocities against citizens in their country of origin. The individual will be removed from United States.

On Nov. 20, 2017, Olaf Tepper, 51, entered the United States lawfully in New York using a nonimmigrant visa.

During the operation, ERO officers arrested six aliens at-large in the community. The six are known or suspected human rights violators who were issued final orders of removal to be removed from United States.

ERO Baltimore officers arrested a Central American man who was affiliated with an organization complicit in alleged kidnappings, inflicted prisoner injuries, and alleged murders in his home country, and a West African man connected to a regime directly responsible for human rights abuses of citizens in his home country. The two were issued final orders of removal to be removed from United States.

Three defendants were arrested in the Los Angeles area, while the others were arrested in the Seattle and Vancouver, Canada areas. Three additional defendants are currently in state custody and will be transferred over to federal custody at a later date.

Sean David Sigler, 55, of Burbank, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of production of child pornography. Sigler, whom a federal grand jury indicted in May 2018, previously taught fifth-grade students at Bret Harte Elementary School in Burbank and at Gardner Street Elementary School in Hollywood.

The ICE National Fugitive Operations Program in coordination with the ICE Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, and the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, worked with ICE’s ERO Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Newark, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco field offices to arrest these fugitives.

Following his Aug. 31 arrest, Milon Miah, from Bangladesh but residing in Tapachula, Mexico, appeared before U.S. District Judge Dena H. Palmero. At the hearing, Miah was charged with conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the U.S.; Judge Palmero ordered Miah be held pending transfer to Laredo for further criminal proceedings.

Jeffrey Clinton Michalik, 44, from San Antonio, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 by Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra.

Of the other 120 aliens ERO removed, 39 were Failure to Comply (FTC) subjects who previously resisted removal attempts. One particularly egregious individual on the flight was an aggravated felon who possessed convictions for First Degree Kidnapping with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Sexual Assault With Use Of A Deadly Weapon, and Trafficking In Controlled Substance – crimes for which he earned sentences of 15 years, 25 years, and 12 months in prison.

ICE HSI has awarded up to $4.25 million to Marshall University for the development and implementation of a tool to aid in opioid investigations.

After his arrest in November 2018, a second search revealed Daniel Eric Merida, 35, El Dorado, Kansas, had used online storage to transport more child pornography, and he was in possession of more child pornography on his phone.

Jose Loza, 40, the lead defendant in a 2016 federal grand jury indictment charging 51 Canta Ranas members and associates, was convicted Thursday afternoon of 12 felonies. Canta Ranas is a multi-generational criminal enterprise engaged in murder, attempted murder, assault, extortion, money laundering, and drug distribution.

Christian Alexander Augustus, 23, a.k.a. “Sir Ceeco,” was arrested in Stockton on Monday. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on August 28, and was ordered detained pending trial. He remains in federal custody in Sacramento and will be transferred to this district at a later date to face the charges against him.

Joshua David LeCompte, 34, pleaded guilty on Feb. 21, 2019, to distributing child pornography and was sentenced Aug. 28 to 151 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Last week, Kevin Dean McCoy, 28, of Tucson, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg. Silvester Ruelas, 50, of Peoria, Ariz., was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison.