News Releases and Statements

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend this policy for an additional 60 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now November 19, 2020.

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will further extend this policy for an additional 30 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now Sept. 19.

These three terror finance campaigns all relied on sophisticated cyber-tools, including the solicitation of cryptocurrency donations from around the world. The action demonstrates how different terrorist groups have similarly adapted their terror finance activities to the cyber age.

Arman Manukyan, 49, of Panorama City, was charged today with one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

As detailed in the civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed Aug.3, 2020, defendants Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh, and Nguyen Duy Toan, all residents of Vietnam, are alleged to have engaged in a wire fraud scheme seeking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

HSI launched Operation Stolen Promise in April 2020 to protect the Homeland from the increasing and evolving threat posed by COVID-19-related fraud and criminal activity.

Nonimmigrant students and schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) should abide by SEVP guidance originally issued in March 2020. The guidance enables schools and students to engage in distance learning in excess of regulatory limits due to the public health emergency generated by COVID-19. The March 2020 guidance applies to nonimmigrant students who were actively enrolled at a U.S. school on March 9 and are otherwise complying with the terms of their nonimmigrant status, whether from inside the U.S. or abroad. SEVP will not issue a temporary final rule impacting nonimmigrant students for the fall school term.

Employers are required to monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates regarding when the extensions will be terminated, and normal operations will resume.

HSI launched a special operation – called Operation Stolen Promise – in April 2020 to protect U.S. consumers from the increasing and evolving threat posed by the pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, SEVP instituted a temporary exemption regarding online courses for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than normally permitted by federal regulation to maintain their nonimmigrant status during the COVID-19 emergency.

Dr. Eric R. Shibley, 41, of Seattle, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint, unsealed today upon his arrest, in the Western District of Washington with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson at 2 p.m. PDT today.

On March 19 due to precautions implemented by employers and employees associated with COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would exercise prosecutorial discretion to defer the physical presence requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision, as explained in the guidance below, was implemented for 60 days and was set to expire on May 19.

Operation Stolen Promise is a national operation aimed at combatting COVID-19 fraud and other related criminal activity.

Richard Schirripa, a/k/a “the Mask Man,” a licensed pharmacist, is charged with violating the Defense Production Act by hoarding and price gouging scarce N95 masks; making two false statements to law enforcement; committing healthcare fraud; and committing aggravated identity theft.

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.

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.