News Releases

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending September 10, 2010

September 7, 2010 - ICE rescues 3 dozen smuggled aliens from LA-area home used as 'drop house' in human smuggling operation

Acting on a tip from a concerned family member, ICE agents in Los Angeles executed a federal search warrant at a residence and found 37 smuggled aliens from six countries jammed inside a tiny bedroom. ICE took an additional seven aliens linked to the same smuggling scheme into custody earlier in the day as they were being transported to other destinations in the Los Angeles area. Full Story

September 7, 2010 - ICE tackles counterfeit sports merchandise, other goods in New Orleans area

Working with investigators for the National Football League (NFL) and other professional sports leagues, ICE agents, along with officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and local law enforcement, investigated multiple vendors in the New Orleans area and seized more than 1,400 counterfeit hats, t-shirts and jerseys worth approximately $210,000. Full Story

September 7, 2010 - Texas man sentenced for selling counterfeit Cisco routers

Robert Edman, 30, of Richmond, Texas, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for selling counterfeit Cisco components, following an ICE investigation.

Edman's business sold counterfeit parts purported to be genuine Cisco networking products to various customers, including the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, FBI, BOP, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Energy, as well as defense contractors, universities, school districts and financial institutions. Full Story

September 8, 2010 - Maryland woman sentenced to 45 months in prison for assuming the identity of a disabled victim for 25 years

Chinyere Etoty was sentenced to 45 months in prison and three years of supervised release for Social Security fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to trial testimony, in September 1984, Etoty stole personal identifying information belonging to a disabled resident of Decatur, Ill., to obtain a replacement Social Security card in the victim's name. Etoty used the fraudulent Social Security card to impersonate the victim for the next 25 years in order to obtain employment and driver's licenses, open bank accounts and apply for lines of credit. Full Story

September 8, 2010 - 2 men plead guilty to impersonating U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in advance fee fraud scheme

Saleumsak Khammungkhune, 57, of San Diego, and David Johnson, 39, a Nigerian national, admitted to posing as CBP agents and officers in a conspiracy in which they contacted victims through the Internet. Victims were told that $10 million had arrived for them from Nigeria, but that they had to pay U.S. customs duties and fees to obtain the money. Through this "advance fee" scheme, conspirators defrauded victims out of approximately $300,000. Full Story