News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
While in the United States on a visa, Emmanuel Odiah, 33, a citizen of Nigeria, most recently of Dallas, laundered money for a network of individuals perpetrating computer-based fraud schemes in Nigeria and Ghana.
Consistent with the agency’s protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about the death, including DHS's Office of Inspector General, and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.
Investigators found the video of the infant, which was created in 2010, while preparing for Zweitzig’s sentencing hearing in a separate child exploitation case filed by this Office. In that previous case, Zweitzig was charged in May 2019 with five counts of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Lin Li, a.k.a. Aaron Li, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute at least 1,000 marijuana plants.
Pursuant to ongoing Cultural Property, Arts & Antiquities investigations by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, a civil complaint was filed Monday to forfeit a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem considered one the world’s oldest works of literature.
Employers who were served notices of inspection (NOIs) by ICE during the month of March 2020 and had not already responded were granted an automatic extension for 60 days from the effective date. ICE will grant an additional extension of 30 days to these employers.
This gang investigation was prompted by three murders, occurring on the street, at Kissena Park and on an elevated Subway Platform in Queens. One defendant was arrested May 13 in Maryland. Five defendants were arrested May 14 in New York and California. On May 15, four defendants will be arrested and transferred to federal custody from detention facilities where they are currently held.
The HSI Orlando office recently honored fallen HSI Task Force Agent (TFA) Miguel Martínez-Ortiz during Running 4 Heroes. Martínez-Ortiz, a member of the Puerto Rico Police Department was a TFA for HSI San Juan and a 28-year veteran of law enforcement. He passed away on April 24, 2020, after contracting COVID-19 while on duty.
Martin Rosales-Rodriguez, 20, of Rogers, Ark., will also be required to complete ten years of supervision following his release.
Maria Guadalupe Chavero-Jimenez, 30, is accused of taking money from Banco Santender, Mexico. According to Mexican authorities, in 2016, bank officials reported a total of $1.6 million pesos, approximately $85,000 U.S. dollars, had been taken from a bank vault. The bank launched an internal investigation and learned that Chavero-Jimenez, who had access to the vault, had allegedly taken the money.
Celio Alexander Serrano-Trejo, 34, an MS-13 gang member, was removed from the United States via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and transferred into the custody of Salvadoran law enforcement authorities.
In June 2000, a magistrate in Oaxaca, Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Arsenio Victor Balderas-Martinez, who is suspected in the March 6, 2000, shooting death of a family member. If convicted, Balderas-Martinez faces a sentence of 35 years in prison.
Matthew Owens, 42, has been charged by criminal complaint with smuggling and the receipt in interstate commerce of misbranded drugs and the delivery thereof for pay.
Chaunta A. Bashir, a.k.a. “taytheonly,” 26, of Chino, agreed to plead guilty to one count of production of child pornography, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in United States District Court. A hearing where Bashir will enter his guilty plea is expected to be set in the coming weeks.
Consistent with the agency’s protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about the death, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
Criminal organizations continue to try to smuggle fraudulent, mislabeled, and unauthorized COVID-19 related products, such as purported anti-viral products, personal protective equipment (PPE), and test kits across the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border.
Michael Diaz-Calderon, 51, from Washington State, was charged May 6, 2020, by a U.S. District Judge.
Leonel Campos-Valdez and Francisco Vasquez-Cruz are both citizens of Mexico and in the United States illegally. Both men were charged with unlawful delivery of methamphetamine, laundering a monetary instrument and unlawful possession of methamphetamine and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Medford, Oregon.
Since the start of the pandemic, HSI and other law enforcement agencies have seen a significant increase in criminals attempting to capitalize and profit from the fear and anxiety surrounding the virus, including the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical equipment and illicit online sales and trade importation violations of products claiming to be treatment options.
Following an investigation by ICE’s HSI in New York, Melvin Martinez, 38, was arraigned Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York on an international cocaine distribution conspiracy charge.