The Right Conservative News Sites | Right Side News

Right Side News Reports from ICE on this week's top stories

March 19, 2010

Philadelphia man indicted for traveling for illicit sex
PHILADELPHIA - A city resident was charged for traveling abroad to engage in illicit sex on March 18 as a result of an investigation started by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Omar Rashaad Bey was indicted on four counts of traveling to Egypt for the purposes of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and three counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and three counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of ninety years imprisonment, a $1.75 million fine, lifetime supervised release and a $700 special assessment. Read More..

9 indicted for smuggling millions of dollars in counterfeit goods manufactured in Asia through the Port of Baltimore 6 other suspects arrested by British authorities in related case

BALTIMORE - Under cover operations performed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers resulted in the indictment of 9 individuals, including 2 Malaysian citizens, 4 Chinese citizens and 3 naturalized citizens of the United States. These charges arose from a conspiracy to smuggle into the United States counterfeit shoes, handbags and wrist watches manufactured in Malaysia and China.

Charged in the indictment are: Wai Hong Yong, aka Raymond Yong, 43 and Eng Cheng Kee, 40, both of Malaysia; Hexing Yang, aka Marco Yang, 38, Chan Hong Xu, 40, Lidan Zhang, aka Mrs. Li, 39 and Kai T. Jaing, aka Kent, 25, all of the People's Republic of China; Josephine O. Zhou, 32, of Brooklyn, New York; Kin Yip Ng, aka James Lee, 43, of Whitestone, New York; and Yenn-Kun Hsieh, aka Jimmy Lee, 45, of Queens, New York. Read More..

Joint international manhunt leads to arrest of fugitive wanted in three countries

WASHINGTON - An international manhunt has ended with the capture of Jorge Torres-Puello aka Jorge Torres Orellana. After a coordinated effort between the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and multiple law enforcement agencies in the United States and overseas, Torres-Puello was located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and arrested without incident by local authorities there Thursday at 8 p.m.  Torres-Puello is wanted in El Salvador for crimes against children, sexual exploitation of minors for pornography and prostitution, organized crime and human trafficking. In the United States, he is wanted in Vermont on alien smuggling offenses and in Philadelphia for probation violations for fraud. He is also wanted in Canada. Before and after his previous arrests in the United States and Canada, Torres-Puello assumed several fraudulent identities and was known by several aliases. Read More..

 Orlando man sentenced for possession of child pornography

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Timothy Murphy, 53, of Orlando, Fla., was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for possession of images of child pornography, following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Orlando.  Murphy pleaded guilty on Nov. 23, 2009. He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.  According to court documents, ICE special agents executed a federal search warrant at Murphy's home in Altamonte Springs, Fla., on June 20, 2007.  During the search, agents located and seized two computers. One of the computers contained approximately 75 images and 16 video files depicting nude and semi-nude females under the age of 18 in a variety of poses. Read More..

Pittsburgh area man pleads guilty to violating child exploitation laws

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Michael Penwell, 41, resident of New Castle, Pa, pleaded guilty on March 8 in federal court to three counts of violating federal child exploitation laws as a result of an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Court documents show that between January 2008 and October 16, 2008, Penwell produced, transported and possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  His sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2010. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of at least 15 years and up to 60 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.  Read More..

Kansas man charged with sexually exploiting a 2-year-old girl
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A local man accused of sexually exploiting a 2-year-old girl to produce child pornography was arrested and charged in federal court on Thursday. The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Larry Howard, 41, of Olathe, Kan., was arrested March 18 and charged in the District of Kansas with producing child pornography.  According to the criminal complaint, Howard allegedly took sexually explicit photos of a 2-year-old girl and traded those images over the Internet to obtain more child pornography. The investigation began in September 2009 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip that a man in Australia had uploaded child pornography to a website. The Australian Capital Territory Police identified an Australian man, Troy White, as the user who posted the photos. White is currently facing child pornography charges in Australia. Read More..

March 18, 2010

ICE meets with industry leaders in battle against counterfeit and pirated products National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center aggressively pursues IPR violators

Adulterating medicine, manufacturing bogus goods and trying to sell dubious agricultural mixtures to spray on food crops are just a few of the crimes categorized under the heading of intellectual property rights violations. These crimes bilk U.S. businesses out of billions of dollars each year and threaten the health and safety of American consumers.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which leads the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), recently continued its ongoing dialogue with industry leaders who are hard pressed to protect their brand names and financial interests as the illicit business of counterfeiting and pirating products is becoming a thriving criminal underworld. The venue for this round of meetings was in Hong Kong on March 5.  Read More..

Virginia man pleads guilty to child pornography, firearms charges

Norfolk, Va - Neal Assad Sabra, 45, of Chesapeake, Va., pled guilty today in Norfolk federal court to two counts of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies.  According to court documents, Sabra communicated via e-mail with an undercover federal officer located in New York and sent that officer numerous images of child pornography. On January 21, 2010, ICE agents executed search warrants at Sabra's home and place of employment, and seized numerous computers and other electronic media. During the execution of the search warrant, forensic analysts previewed a thumb drive located on Sabra's key chain and found four saved videos of child pornography.  Read More..

Missouri company convicted and sentenced for the illegal purchase and sale of smuggled ozone-depleting refrigerant gas

MIAMI - Mar-Cone Appliance Parts Co. (Marcone), a Missouri corporation with its headquarters in St. Louis, was convicted and sentenced on March 18 in connection with the illegal receipt, purchase, and sale of ozone-depleting refrigerant gas that had been smuggled into the United States contrary to the Clean Air Act.  The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Miami, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Miami-Dade Police Department, Environmental Investigation Unit.  Read More..

March 17, 2010

Nevada sex offender faces federal charges after attempted airport meeting with teen  

LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas man, who allegedly solicited sex from a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl, has been charged with enticing a minor and committing a sex offense as a registered sex offender, the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Darryl Owen Walizer, 42, is accused in a two-count indictment, returned Tuesday, of using the Internet to solicit the minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. The alleged actions occurred between February 17 and March 12.  The case was initiated after ICE received information from the Garland, Texas, Police Department that the defendant had contacted and solicited sex from one of its undercover detectives, who was posing online as a 14-year-old girl. When Walizer arrived at McCarran International Airport March 12 to meet the "girl" he believed was arriving on a flight with her mother, he was arrested by ICE agents.

South Florida man who posed as immigration official indicted in immigration benefit fraud scheme

MIAMI - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents arrested a South Florida man on March 15 for his alleged involvement in an immigration benefit fraud scheme where he is alleged to have impersonated a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee in an attempt to obtain money from illegal immigrants by falsely promising them immigration benefits to remain in the United States.  Parasharm Maharaj, aka Paris Maharaj, 66, of Sunrise, Fla., was indicted on March 9 in a six-count indictment charging him with mail fraud, presenting false immigration applications, encouraging illegal aliens to remain in the United States, and impersonation of a federal employee.  Read More..

Former loan originator convicted on 30 felony counts for mortgage fraud
Defendant forged documents, defrauded banks and sellers

SEATTLE - A former loan originator and licensed notary was convicted Wednesday in federal court on 30 felony counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire, fraud and money laundering offenses, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  William S. Poff, 37, of Marshall, Mich., was living in Washington state when he and four other individuals were involved in a mortgage fraud scheme that cheated banks and property sellers in the Puget Sound region out of millions of dollars. ICE agents arrested Poff and four others in June 2009.  Court documents reveal that starting in 2005 through 2008, the co-conspirators fraudulently obtained financing from banks to purchase homes. They secured the loans by providing a series of false statement on employment, income, citizenship status, assets and liabilities.  Read More..

Colorado company charged with illegally exporting defense articles

DENVER - A Colorado company that allegedly illegally exported defense items without the proper license, including military optical prisms and technical data, was charged Wednesday in federal court. The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).  The Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. located in Lafayette, Colo., was charged March 17 in the District of Colorado with one count of knowingly and willfully exporting defense articles without a license.  According to court documents, between April 1, 2005 and Oct. 11, 2007, Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. exported prisms and technical data related to optics used in military applications to Turkey, South Korea, the People's Republic of China and Russia.  Read More..

March 16, 2010

Secure Communities strategy at work in Fairfax County

FAIRFAX, Va. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that since the agency began using biometrics-fingerprints-to identify criminal aliens in Fairfax County one year ago, ICE officers have identified more than 1,200 aliens charged with or convicted of crimes. As part of ICE's Secure Communities strategy for better identifying and removing criminal aliens, ICE has already removed 144 individuals, while the remaining are in immigration proceedings or will be removed from the United States once they serve their criminal sentence.  In March 2009, as part of the Secure Communities strategy, ICE deployed IDENT/IAFIS interoperability to Fairfax County law enforcement agencies, which enables fingerprints submitted during the booking process to be checked automatically against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal history records and DHS records, including immigration status. When fingerprints match DHS records, ICE is automatically notified and promptly determines if enforcement action is required. This process applies to all individuals arrested and booked into custody, not just those suspected of being foreign nationals. Read More..

Read more news