Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Immigration Enforcement Actions
CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments for multiple individuals on charges of illegal reentry offenses. Additionally, one defendant pleaded guilty to illegal reentry.
These are separate cases and are not related.
Oscar Arcos-Carvajal, 40, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Oct. 22, 2009. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol, Sandusky Bay Station.
Erick Cordova Rodriguez, 37, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being June 13, 2018. He was also previously convicted of attempted illegal reentry on June 7, 2018. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Antonio G. Nicolas-Pedro, 31, a citizen of Guatemala, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on three occasions: Jan. 24, 2018, April 3, 2018, and June 7, 2018. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI.
Dino De Laurentis Rivera-Lopez, aka Jorge Palmero Rivera Lopez, 44, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on three occasions with the last being Jan. 20, 2020. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI and the Campbell Police Department.
Additionally, Veronica Rios-Ruiz, 47, a citizen of Mexico, has been sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent after pleading guilty in federal court to illegal reentry of a removed alien. According to information presented in court, Rios-Ruiz was previously removed from the United States three times with the most recent being Dec. 15, 2007. She was also previously convicted of identity fraud in 2007. Rios-Ruiz has been in custody since her arrest on Feb. 25, 2025 and will remain detained pending deportation from the United States. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
