News Releases and Statements

Federal officers arrested 16 defendants Wednesday and executed search warrants at a dozen locations across Southern California - including a Van Nuys taco shop and a North Hollywood auto repair business - linked to a network of drug trafficking cells and Mexico-based suppliers that imported large quantities of Mexican cocaine, heroin and...

A joint law enforcement investigation into the activities of a Mexican drug-trafficking organization operating locally resulted in 21 Mexican nationals being convicted and sentenced to a collective total of 1,543 months in prison.

A Hong Kong-based jewelry exporter and supplier to a U.S. cable shopping network pleaded guilty Friday to customs fraud charges and faces nearly $2 million in fines and restitution in a scheme discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Regulatory Audit Unit and investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A federal grand jury returned three indictments Wednesday, charging three individuals with child exploitation offenses.

The indictment charges Arnold Bernard Conrad Jr., 49, with two counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted of receiving child pornography, he faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.

Richard Dates, 67, of Grant, N.M., was taken into custody Thursday afternoon at his home by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Dates was arrested after HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at his residence and discovered computers containing sexually explicit images and videos of children.

William Davis, 38, was arrested on a warrant issued by the Western District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney's Office for conspiracy to distribute child pornography and conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography.

Brand holders and intellectual property rights experts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) led an all-day symposium Thursday aimed at combatting brand theft and merchandise counterfeiting.

James Wean Jr., 49, is charged with attempted aggravated kidnapping after being arrested near a gas station in Pin Oak, Texas, the evening of Aug. 21.

According to court records, on Nov. 2, HSI Cocoa Beach received information from an investigator with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Georgia that a person in Florida had used an Internet chat service to trade child pornography that day. That person, who was later determined to be William Christopher Dempsey, 30, of Wildwood, Fla., had also mentioned in a chat that he was sexually molesting a 3-year-old.

Tommaso Accetta, 44, had been arrested and convicted on three different occasions in New York. The latest conviction was for larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 days in prison. ERO officers encountered Accetta at Rikers Island April 3, 2012.

Marcus Morgan, 37, of Dallas, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 17 1/2 years in federal prison following his November guilty plea on child pornography charges.

Seven suspects made their initial appearances in federal court Thursday on drug charges stemming from their alleged role in an attempt to smuggle more than a ton of marijuana into the United States from Mexico onboard a sailboat and panga interdicted off the coast of Catalina Island.

A group of 23 Mexican customs officers completed a rigorous 10-week training program modeled on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Training Program to prepare them to more effectively fight crime along the southern border and within Mexico.

A federal jury found a Colombian man guilty Wednesday of three drug conspiracy charges. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison for two of the conspiracy charges and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for the third charge.

As part of ICE's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 28 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a five-day operation in northeastern Wisconsin which ended Tuesday.

A federal grand jury charged Mu-Tsun Tsai, 27, of Champaign, Ill., with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. Tsai was previously arrested and charged in a criminal complaint July 24. U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal ordered Tsai to remain in U.S. Marshals Service custody.

James R. Howard was sentenced to 20 years in prison for possessing more than 2,400 images and videos of child pornography. The sentence comes after an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Three individuals and a corporation are charged with fraud and bribery in connection with their alleged role in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving the procurement of a military contract for services in Afghanistan, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City Wednesday.

David Paul Moe, 45, of Denver, is currently in custody pending a bond release hearing. The grand jury charged Moe with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

On Aug. 21, HSI special agents and partner law enforcement officers worked in teams to execute 17 federal search warrants.

A Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) indictment was unsealed Tuesday charging individuals with participating in a massive racketeering organization. These charges stem from an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, which included sadistic conduct and other violent images involving minors.

Jose "Panama" Antonio Haughton, 36, is believed to have illegally posed as an immigration officer over the past several years. He is known by most people simply as "Panama." While he operated mostly from the Seattle/Tacoma area, investigators have identified victims in other parts of the country.

A brother and sister from north Texas were each sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in federal prison following their convictions for attempting to smuggle almost 900 rounds of ammunition and 17 firearms magazines into Mexico.