Making Immigration Happen
Chicago Woman Arrested for Selling Fraudulent Identity Documents to Illegal Aliens
A woman was arrested Wednesday, February 13, 2013, on charges she allegedly sold fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens. These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigra
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Tag Archives: FBI

Guatemalan National Extradited to Florida to Face Drug Smuggling Charges

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A Guatemalan drug smuggler was extradited to Tampa Friday, February 8, 2013, following an investigation by the Panama Express Strike Force, a task force that targets maritime smuggling. The strike force consists of several federal agencies, including: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Joint Interagency Task Force – South; and, the United States Marshals Service. The Guatemala government and Guatemalan law enforcement agencies also assisted with the investigation.

Alma Lucrecia Hernandez-Preciado, aka “La Tia,” 40, of Tecun Uman,Guatemala, was indicted in the Middle District of Florida Sept. 22, 2011, for violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

According to the indictment, Hernandez-Preciado helped organize the maritime smuggling of cocaine shipments into the United States. She was allegedly involved in a May 2011 drug smuggling venture where the crew of a go-fast boat was interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Guatemala, and law enforcement authorities seized 347 kilograms of cocaine. Hernandez-Preciado is charged with participating in a conspiracy with others to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. She is also charged with helping others distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine.

Hernandez-Preciado was arrested in Guatemala Oct. 10, 2011. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

Operation Dark Night Charges 13 Additional Defendants for Sex Trafficking

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A superseding indictment, returned Thursday, February 7, 2013, in federal court, has added 13 more defendants for their roles in an alleged sex trafficking and prostitution ring operating in Mexico, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and elsewhere. In total, 25 defendants have now been charged in the superseding indictment, which follows the original 12-defendant indictment returned in January.

The federal charges follow a lengthy investigation dubbed “Operation Dark Night,” led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). In addition to the 12 arrests and nearly 20 search warrants executed in January, federal authorities rescued 11 women alleged to have been forced into prostitution. The investigation of this case remains ongoing.

United States Attorney Edward Tarver said, “The superseding indictment adds even more gruesome details to the allegations of an already reprehensible human trafficking ring operating within our very own communities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will not stop until all of those responsible are brought to justice.”

“The superseding indictment alleges that this sex trafficking ring was even more extensive and ruthless,” said Brock D. Nicholson, special agent in charge of HSI Atlanta. “Over a dozen new suspects, including ‘johns,’ have now been added. Of more concern are new allegations that members of this conspiracy arranged to hold some of their victims’ children hostage in Mexico to ensure their compliance as prostitutes in the United States. The investigation in Operation Dark Night will continue until we have rooted out all of the bad actors in this conspiracy and have brought them to justice.”

According to allegations in the superseding indictment, some of the defendants would entice women from Mexico and elsewhere to travel to the United States with false promises of the American dream. Once inside the United States, these women were allegedly threatened and forced to commit acts of prostitution at numerous locations in Savannah, Ga., and throughout the southeast. Women were alleged to have been forced to perform as many as 25 acts of prostitution a day.

Tarver stressed that an indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

HSI provides relief to victims of human trafficking by allowing for their continued presence in the United States during criminal proceedings. Victims may also qualify for a T-visa, which is issued to victims of human trafficking who have complied with reasonable requests for assistance in investigations and prosecutions. Anyone who suspects instances of human trafficking is encouraged to call the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or the Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Anonymous calls are welcome.

Operation Dark Night was led by HSI, with assistance from the FBI; the ATF; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); CBP Air and Marine Operations; Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS); IRS-Criminal Investigations; the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department; the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office; the Garden City Police Department; and, the Chatham County Counter Narcotics Team.

HSI Target Operation Seizes 2,600 Pounds of Cocaine

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with other members of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF), arrested two Dominican Republic nationals for drug trafficking and seized 2,600 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $29 million Wednesday, January 2, 2013, off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.

“In less than one week HSI and its partners in the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force have seized more than 2,800 pounds of cocaine,” said Angel Melendez, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. “These seizures and related arrests are clear proof that HSI, along with our state and federal partners, is vigilant and will not tolerate the importation of illegal drugs into the United States through Puerto Rico.”

Earlier the week ending in Friday, January 4, 2013, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter intercepted a private vessel 43 nautical miles off of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, occupied by two Dominican Republic nationals and carrying 40 bales with approximately 2,600 pounds of cocaine. According to the criminal complaint, Jose De Leon and Wilson Concepción, both 40, knowingly and intentionally conspired to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The District of Puerto Rico was the first point where the defendants entered the United States after the commission of the offense.

De Leon and Concepción were transferred to the Guaynabo Metropolitan Detention Center in Puerto Rico awaiting the outcome of their case.

CCSF is an initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office created to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating in the Caribbean. CCSF is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force that investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States. The initiative is composed of HSI, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Puerto Rico Police Department’s United Forces for Rapid Action.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected weapons and narcotics smuggling and related information by calling at 1-866-DHS-2ICE.

Iran National Deported for Smuggling Nuclear Technology to Iran

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One of three men who conspired to illegally ship highly specialized vacuum pump equipment with nuclear applications from the United States to Iran was deported Friday, January 4, 2013, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Amirhossein Sairafi, 44, was released from federal prison Thursday, January 3, 2013, and immediately deported from Chicago via commercial flight, arriving Jan. 4 in Tehran, Iran.

Sairafi is one of three co-defendants who conspired to ship items from the United States to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and U.S. sanctions imposed on that country. Sairafi pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to conspiring to defraud the United States, money laundering and violating the IEEPA. He was sentenced March 7, 2011, to 41 months in federal prison. He was released from the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institute in Indiana Jan. 3 and taken into ICE custody.

According to federal court documents, co-defendant Jiraiir Avanessian owned and operated XVAC, a company located in Glendale, Calif. Avanessian corresponded with co-defendants Farhad Masoumian and Sairafi via email for at least two years to arrange the illegal export of expensive vacuum pumps and related equipment to Iran through a free-trade zone in the United Arab Emirates. As part of the conspiracy, Sairafi re-labeled the shipments to mask their true contents and avoid interception by U.S. customs officials.

The vacuum pumps and related devices at issue in this case can potentially be used to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel.

Sairafi was arrested in January 2010 by German authorities and subsequently extradited to the United States to face prosecution.

“This individual’s criminal conviction and resulting deportation underscore ICE’s commitment to promoting public safety and national security,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ERO Chicago.

The criminal case against Sairafi was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division.

One of ICE’s highest priorities is to prevent illicit procurement networks, terrorist groups and hostile nations from illegally obtaining U.S. military products, sensitive technology, weapons of mass destruction, or chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials. HSI’s Counter-Proliferation Investigations Program oversees a broad range of investigative activities related to such violations. It enforces U.S. laws involving the export of military items and controlled dual-use goods, as well as exports to sanctioned or embargoed countries.

Latin Kings Street Gang Member Sentenced for Racketeering, Conspiracy, and Gang Crimes

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A Latin Kings streetgang member was sentenced Wednesday, November 28, 2012, to 15 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy and other crimes in support of the gang. Two other gang associates were sentenced Monday, November 26, 2012, on related charges. These sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Capp of the Northern District of Indiana.

 The sentences resulted from an investigation conducted by the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the National Gang Intelligence Center; Chicago Police Department; and the Indiana police departments of East Chicago, Griffith, Highland, Hammond and Houston.

 David Lira, aka “Flaco,” 39, of Chicago, was sentenced Nov. 28 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty July 13 to racketeering conspiracy. Gang associates Bianca Fernandez, 23, and Serina Arambula, 23, both of Chicago, were sentenced Nov. 26 to 36 months and 21 months in prison, respectively. U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano, Northern District of Indiana, imposed the sentences.

Fernandez pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to conspiring to murder in aid of racketeering. Arambula pleaded guilty Aug. 7 to withholding information on a murder.

 According to the third superseding indictment filed in this case, the Latin Kings is a nationwide gang that originated in Chicago and has branched out throughout the United States. The Latin Kings is a well-organized street gang that has specific leadership and is composed of regions that include multiple chapters. The third superseding indictment charges that the Latin Kings were responsible for more than 20 murders.

 Also according to the third superseding indictment, the Latin Kings enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the Latin Kings. Members are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, including taking on assignments often referred to as “missions.”

 During his guilty plea proceeding, Lira admitted to being a Latin Kings member at an early age. He also acknowledged he was aware that the Latin Kings, specifically some of his co-defendants, distributed more than 150 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana over the course of the racketeering conspiracy.

 Lira also acknowledged that on Feb. 24, 2007, Jose Zambrano, a regional enforcer for the gang, and other Latin Kings members dropped two firearms off at Lira’s residence in Lansing, Ill.The next evening, Zambrano and the others returned to retrieve the weapons from Lira before riding to the Soprano’s Bar in Griffith, Ind., where they gunned down and killed two rival gang members.

 Fernandez admitted in court that on Nov. 26, 2006, at the direction of a Latin Kings member, she accompanied two members of the rival Latin Dragons gang to Jackson Park, Ill., near La Rabida Children’s Hospital on the south side ofChicago. Fernandez also admitted to making arrangements for Latin Kings gang members to meet them at the location, where those gang members shot the Latin Dragons gang members, killing one. Fernandez admitted that when interviewed by Chicago police, she concealed the true nature of the murder.

 During her guilty plea proceeding, Arambula admitted accompanying Fernandez and the Latin Dragon members to Jackson Park, and providing false information to Chicago police regarding the identity of the shooters.

 Twenty-three Latin Kings members and associates have been indicted in this case; 20 have pleaded guilty; one was found guilty following a jury trial; one awaits trial; and one remains a fugitive.

 Joseph A. Cooley of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and David J. Nozick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana are prosecuting the case. Andrew Porter of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois provided significant assistance.

 The third superseding indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants who have not been convicted are innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Iran Native Charged with Exporting U.S. Military Equipment to Singapore and Hong Kong

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Amin Ravan, a citizen of Iran, and his Iran-based company, IC Market Iran (IMI), was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday, November 20, 2012, with conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling, and violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) in connection with the unlawful export of 55 military antennas from the United States to Singapore and Hong Kong. The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its federal law enforcement partners.

According to the indictment, which was returned under seal by a grand jury in Washington Nov. 16, Ravan was based in Iran and, at various times, acted as an agent of IMI in Iran and an agent of Corezing International Pte Ltd, a company based Singapore that also maintained offices in Hong Kong and China.

On Oct. 10, 2012, Ravan was arrested by authorities in Malaysia in connection with a U.S. provisional arrest warrant. The United States is seeking to extradite him from Malaysia to stand trial in Washington. If convicted of the charges against him, Ravan faces a potential 20 years in prison for the AECA violation, 10 years in prison for the smuggling charge and five years in prison for the conspiracy charge.

According to the indictment, in late 2006 and early 2007, Ravan attempted to procure for shipment toIranexport-controlled antennas made by a company in Massachusetts, through an intermediary in Iran. The antennas sought by Ravan were cavity-backed spiral antennas suitable for airborne or shipboard direction finding systems or radar warning receiver applications, as well as biconical antennas that are suitable for airborne and shipboard environments, including in several military aircraft.

After this first attempt was unsuccessful, Ravan joined with two co-conspirators at Corezing in Singapore so that Corezing would contact the Massachusetts company and obtain the antennas on behalf of Ravan for shipment toIran. When Corezing was unable to purchase the export-controlled antennas from the Massachusetts firm, Corezing then contacted another individual in the United States who was ultimately able to obtain these items from the Massachusetts firm by slightly altering the frequency range of the antennas to avoid detection by the company’s export compliance officer.

In March 2007, Ravan and the co-conspirators at Corezing agreed on a purchase price of $86,750 for 50 cavity-backed antennas from the United States and discussed structuring payment from Ravan to his Corezing co-conspirators in a manner that would avoid transactional delays caused by the Iran embargo. Ultimately, between July and September 2007, a total of 50 cavity-backed spiral antennas and five biconical antennas were exported from the United States to Corezing in Singapore and Hong Kong.

According to the indictment, no party to these transactions – including Ravan or IMI – ever applied for or received a license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to export any of these antennas from the United States to Singapore or Hong Kong.

Two of Ravan’s co-conspirators, Lim Kow Seng, aka Eric Lim, and Hia Soo Gan Benson, aka Benson Hia, principals of Corezing, have been charged in a separate indictment in the District of Columbia in connection with this particular transaction involving the export of military antennas to Singapore and Hong Kong. The two Corezing principals were arrested in Singapore last year and the United States is seeking their extradition.

This investigation was jointly conducted by HSI special agents in Boston and Los Angeles; FBI agents and analysts in Minneapolis; and Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement agents and analysts in Chicago and Boston.

Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbiaand Trial Attorney Richard S. Scott of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

“Millennium Bomber” Receives 37-Year Prison Sentence

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The Algerian native known as the “Millennium Bomber” was sentenced Wednesday, October 24, 2012, to 37 years in federal prison for his failed 1999 plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.

The case was investigated by the special agents with the former U.S. Customs Service’s Office of Investigations, which is now part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and the FBI.

Ahmed Ressam, 45, was arrested Dec. 14, 1999, as he attempted to enter the United States through the port of entry at Port Angeles, Wash. Ressam had traveled on a ferry fromVictoria,British Columbia,Canada, in a rental car. In the vehicle, he had bomb-making materials and powerful explosives. His plan was foiled after U.S. Customs inspectors grew suspicious of his nervous demeanor.

Following an 18-day trial in 2001, Ressam was convicted on multiple charges including: act of terrorism transcending a national boundary; placing an explosive in proximity to a terminal; using false identification documents; using a fictitious name for admission; making a false statement; smuggling; transporting explosives; possessing an unregistered explosive device; and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.

Facing a possible sentence of 65 years to life in prison in early 2001, Ressam agreed to provide information to the United States and testify against others. However, he stopped providing information in 2003 and now claims that he was mentally incompetent when he provided the information.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, prosecutors recommended a sentence that would keep Ressam incarcerated for life, noting that two key prosecutions have been dismissed because of his lack of cooperation. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour acknowledged that Ressam was “highly culpable and took substantial steps to carry out a horrific crime.” However in sentencing him to 37 years, the judge said a life sentence was too harsh and it was unlikely Ressam would be involved in another violent conspiracy.

In 2005, and in a second sentencing hearing in 2008, Judge Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 22 years in prison. Earlier this year the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case for resentencing, finding that the 22-year sentence was unreasonably low.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Man Arrested for Impersonating ICE Officer, Threatened and Defrauded Immigrants

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A New Jersey man was arrested Oct. 12, 2012, on charges of falsely impersonating a federal officer in order to defraud aliens seeking immigration assistance. The arrest is the result of an investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

Ruben Alvarado, 27, of Elizabeth, N.J., is charged with one count of impersonating a federal officer and one count of identification document fraud.

According to court documents, from September 2009 through May 2011, Alvarado pretended to be an officer or employee acting under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE and the Transportation Security Administration. Alvarado targeted victims, via Facebook and in person, who desired to obtain federal employment, legal status, or work or travel authorization in the United States.

Alvarado would provide his victims false approvals of their applications, often on forms inappropriate to the relief requested, that bore his signature as a purported officer of the United States. Alvarado would threaten victims who complained that the materials were not genuine by saying that his position at ICE vested him with the power to have them and their children deported. Alvarado took no action to further his victims’ legal or employment status, but demanded and obtained payments from his victims totaling more than $17,000.

If convicted of the impersonation charge, Alvarado faces three years in prison, and on the identification document fraud charge, 15 years in prison. Both also carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

Assisting OPR in the investigation was the DHS Office of Inspector General in Miami, Fla., and the Union County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office.

Puerto Rican Fugitives Arrested by HSI for Drug Trafficking and Weapons Violations

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Two fugitives wanted for weapons violations and drug trafficking were arrested Tuesday, October 16, 2012, in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, by members of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Violent Offenders Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents.

Edwin Monge-Peña, 29, wanted by HSI for drug trafficking, and Luis Daniel Rivera-Carrasquillo, 32, wanted by the FBI for weapons violations, were arrested by USMS and HSI special agents in the vicinity of Paseo de Torre Alta in the municipality of Barranquitas, while they were looking for a third fugitive who remains at-large. During the arrest, special agents asked for and obtained consent to search the residence, resulting in the seizure of six rifles; a 9 mm pistol; a machine gun; several magazines, ammunition and cellular telephones; and more than $10,000 in cash.

“These men made the wrong decision by engaging themselves in criminal activity and again, by evading their arrest,” said Angel Melendez, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. “HSI will continue working with our partners in the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Offenders Task Force to apprehend those who think they can commit a crime and then run and hide.”

Monge-Peña is one of the 53 individuals indicted for drug trafficking and money laundering and was a target of Operation Lighthouse, a joint HSI-U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that culminated in the arrest of 44 individuals Oct. 4.

Both men were transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, awaiting the outcome of their case.

Boston Man Arrested at LAX for Transporting Weapons, Hazardous Materials, and Body Bags on Flight

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A body-armor-clad Boston man who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a flight from Japan Friday, October 5, 2012, was expected to make his initial appearance in federal court the afternoon of Tuesday, October 9, 2012, on a charge of transporting hazardous materials after a search of his checked luggage turned up a smoke grenade, along with a hatchet, knives, other weapons, a gas mask, biohazard suits and body bags.

Yongda Huang Harris, 28, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Chinese descent, was referred for secondary inspection the afternoon of Friday, October 5, 2012, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at LAX after CBP officers observed he was wearing a bulletproof vest and flame retardant pants underneath his trench coat.

CBP officers alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, who responded and opened a formal investigation after CBP’s subsequent search of Harris’ checked luggage resulted in the discovery of numerous suspicious items. According to the HSI case affidavit, those items included a pyrotechnic smoke grenade, three leather-coated billy clubs, a collapsible baton, a full-face respirator, various knives, a hatchet, body bags, a biohazard suit, handcuffs, leg irons and a device to repel dogs.

The case affidavit states that when a member of the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad conducted an x-ray examination of the smoke grenade, it showed the device fell under the United Nations’ explosives shipping classification, meaning it is prohibited on board passenger aircraft. Depending on the conditions when it is ignited, the smoke grenade, made by Commando Manufacturers, could potentially fill the cabin of a commercial airplane with smoke or cause a fire.

HSI’s probe into the incident of Friday, October 5, 2012, is ongoing and investigators here are coordinating closely with HSI’s attaché office in Tokyo. Officials say Harris, who makes his permanent home in Boston, has been living and working recently in Japan.

Harris is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of transporting hazardous materials. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

In addition to the Los Angeles Police Department, HSI received assistance with the case from the FBI.

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