News Releases and Statements

Multiple indictments charging 21 individuals with conspiracy and/or immigration benefit fraud (marriage fraud) were unsealed Wednesday.

Adam Joshua Cortez, 31, is most recently a resident of Justin, Texas. He was sentenced following his conviction at trial in May. In July 2011, Cortez used the Internet and a cell phone to try to entice an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to have sex with him.

Thomas E. Stickle, 41, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton. According to court documents and statements made in court, from December 2009 to May 2010, Stickle traded images of child pornography with other individuals by email.

The nationwide search by ICE's HSI for a "Jane Doe" suspected child pornographer ended Tuesday with the arrest of two Salem, Ore., residents on federal child exploitation charges.

A 26-year-old Puerto Rican man, Angel M. Medina-Ayala, was arrested in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, Friday for sexually enticing a 15-year-old female minor. The charges resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF).

Jesse Jeff Stewart, 33, of Albert Lea, Minn., was sentenced to 85 months in prison on one count of receiving child pornography. He was indicted Jan. 10 and pleaded guilty April 18.

Shawn Suri, 37, pleaded guilty May 16 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced Sept. 4, to 78 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

John Andrew Blaes, 49, of Parkville, Md., pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to produce child pornography and to transporting a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI, the FBI and the Baltimore County Police Department.

Kenneth Graham of Amherst, N.Y., was arrested Thursday and charged with sex trafficking of minors. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

A citizen and national of El Salvador and a member of the MS-13 street gang who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Fairfax County, Va., was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison today for illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.

For the past 14 years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been responsible for training ICE officers and special agents to become computer forensic investigators.

Juan A. Villarreal, 52, of Houston, was arrested by HSI special agents Aug. 31. Villarreal taught third grade with the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

A local resident of Ethiopian descent was arrested without incident last week by special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for making false statements on immigration documents and identity theft. The charges relate to mass murders committed throughout Ethiopia during the late 1970s.

"Officers of ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore Fugitive Operations teams arrested 17 public safety threats in Prince George's County, Md., and surrounding areas as part of a three-day ""Cross Check"" enforcement operation targeting at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives."

Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the Spanish Guardia Civil, arrested three individuals Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain, for violations of Spanish drug laws.

Kim Bok Yong, 60, of Villanova, Pa., was arrested Aug. 29 after HSI special agents discovered that Yong was selling counterfeit purses and handbags at a weekly auction in Crumpton, Md.

A Portsmouth, Va., man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to willfully reproduce and distribute tens of thousands of infringing copies of copyrighted works without permission, including infringing copies of movies before they were commercially released on DVD.

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.