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20 'fugitive aliens' captured in Chicago area

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 20 fugitive aliens following a weeklong operation targeting criminal aliens in the Chicago area who were avoiding federal deportation orders, according to a release.

Twenty fugitive aliens and two illegal aliens were arrested in Chicago, Westmont, Wheeling, Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Addison, Bensenville, Norridge and Des Plaines, ICE field officer Deborah Achim said in the release. The arrests were part of the National Fugitive Operations Program, part of ICE’s ongoing effort to restore integrity to the immigration system, Achim said.

Those arrested, including one who had been a fugitive alien for 10 years, included 18 men and two women from Bulgaria, Israel, Jordan, Latvia, Mexico, Moldova, Poland, Russia and the Ukraine, one of whom had been a fugitive alien for 10 years, Achim said. Nineteen of those arrested have criminal records ranging from DUI and visa fraud to drug possession and conspiracy to sell false Social Security numbers.
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/aliens14.html

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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/060310alexandria.htm

News Release

March 10, 2006

Child Pornographer Sentenced To 25 Years in Prison
North Carolina man preyed on children in U.S. and Syria

Alexandria, Va. -- Paul J McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that Burhan Mahmod Hinawi, age 44, of Charlotte, North Carolina was sentenced today by Senior District Judge Claude M. Hilton to 25 years in prison to be followed by supervised release for life for production of child pornography in Syria which Hinawi transported into the United States.

The child pornography movies produced by Hinawi recorded him engaging in a variety of sexual acts with male and female children between the ages of 12 and 15. Court documents reported that after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found the videos in Hinawi's luggage at Dulles airport on July 25, 2005, agents discovered that Hinawi had been convicted in Charlotte, North Carolina on three felony counts of indecent liberties with a very young minor and sentenced to six months in jail with work release. Court papers also documented that additional investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed additional child victims in Charlotte, North Carolina and in Syria. Videos taken by Hinawi on prior trips to Syria documented the molestations of victims as young as six years old.

United States Attorney Paul J. McNulty praised the work of the CBP and ICE agents who worked on this case. "The dedicated work of the agents who investigated this case has stopped a thirteen-year string of child molestations. The agents who protect us from the enemies from without and the predators from within deserve our continuing thanks. In this case, the time fits the crime."

"Keeping child predators off the streets and out of our communities is a priority for ICE and our law enforcement partners. Thanks to the good work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify this predator, ICE was able to locate the child victims of his heinous crimes," said Tom Madigan, acting special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Washington, DC. "This predator's lengthy criminal career has now come to an end."

The case was investigated by Special Agents Robert E. Connelly, II and James Burns of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Officer Adam Coppolo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The prosecution of the case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Gerald J. Smagala.

ICE's investigation into Hinawi was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 7,000 individuals, including 17 in the District of Columbia and 100 in North Carolina.

ICE encourages the reporting of suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. Investigators staff the hotline around the clock. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

-- ICE --

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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/060314losangeles.htm

News Release

March 14, 2006

HOMELAND SECURITY AGENTS SEIZE "BILLION DOLLAR" BOGUS FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES
Investigators say schemes involving fraudulent financial instruments are on the rise

LOS ANGELES - Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Secret Service seized 250 counterfeit Federal Reserve notes last week from a Los Angeles area apartment, each bearing a $1 billion denomination.

The seizure stems from an investigation into Tekle Zigetta, who pleaded guilty yesterday to three federal counts for attempting to smuggle more than $37,000 in currency into the United States following a trip to Korea in 2002. The 45-year-old was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in January after ICE agents lured him back to the U.S. following a three-year absence. Zigetta, who remains in jail, is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

According to the search warrant affidavit filed in the case, the investigation into Zigetta's activities ultimately led agents to the apartment where they recovered the billion dollar bank notes. According to the affidavit, the elderly couple who live in the apartment told agents they received the counterfeit notes from Zigetta before he left the country three years ago. ICE agents say their investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed in connection with the seized bank notes.

The notes, printed with a 1934 issue date and a portrait of President Grover Cleveland, had been treated to make them appear old. Investigators say that is just one of the ploys fraudsters use to convince investors that the fake financial instruments are real. In addition to the bogus bank notes, federal agents also recovered numerous other counterfeit financial instruments at the apartment.

The largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson. These notes, which were printed from December 18, 1934 through January 9, 1935, were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks. They were never circulated among the general public.

ICE officials say cases of fictitious instrument fraud involving the sale or transfer of nonexistent securities appear to be on the rise. Scam artists typically try to sell the bogus securities at a discounted value or use them as collateral to secure loans or make purchases.

Investigating financial crime and fraud is the focus of Operation Cornerstone, ICE's comprehensive initiative to combat vulnerabilities in the nation's financial system. Such schemes can easily be exploited by criminal organizations to earn, move, and store illicit funds.

“The con artists who attempt to pass these bogus securities typically fabricate stories about their origins that are so detailed and compelling buyers often refuse to believe the instruments are fake,” said David Nehls, assistant special agent in charge for ICE's office of investigations at LAX. “For investors, the bottom line needs to be, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“We receive calls on a regular basis from people who have acquired what turn out to be bogus Federal Reserve notes and are upset because the United States government refuses to redeem them,” said James Todak, deputy special agent in charge for the Secret Service in Los Angeles. “You would think the $1 billion denomination would be a give away that these notes are fakes, but some people are still taken in.”

ICE agents say last week's seizure is just the latest example of fictitious instrument fraud. ICE officials encourage those seeking to learn more about this type of fraud to visit the U.S. Bureau of Public Debt web site - www.treasuryscams.gov. The site features samples of various kinds of fictitious fraud instruments and provides information about the related financial schemes.

-- ICE --