The first individual to be extradited to the U.S. from Latvia under a new treaty between the two countries has been sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to produce and sell counterfeit slot machines, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.

A federal district court judge in Las Vegas on Aug. 20 sentenced Cuban citizen Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, to two years in prison for his role in the scheme. Also sentenced to two years in prison was his co-conspirator, Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla.

The men also were ordered to pay USD 151,800 each in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after their prison terms, according to the Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas indicted the men in April 2009, charging each of them with one count of conspiracy, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit labels and two counts of criminal copyright infringement. They were alleged to have produced and sold fake International Game Technology (IGT) slot machines and software. Las Vegas-based IGT is a leading maker of gaming systems. Cabrera, according to the indictment, was responsible for producing the unauthorized copies of IGT software, labels and gaming machine components, while Mantilla’s job was to find customers in the United States.

Cabrera, who ran a company called FE Electronic in Rīga, was arrested in Latvia in June 2009 and extradited to the U.S. in October 2009, according to the Department of Justice. The new extradition treaty between Latvia and the U.S. was ratified in May 2007 and went into effect in April 2009.

The FBI began investigating Cabrera and Mantilla in December 2007. At the time, Cabrera was involved with FE Electronic, while Mantilla was involved with Southeast Gaming Inc. of Cape Coral, Fla. FE Electronic, according to the Latvia’s Register of Enterprises, was established in November 2004.

The FBI arranged for a source to solicit information from Mantilla about slot machines. During a two-year period, according to court documents, the FBI source agreed to several transactions with Mantilla and Cabrera that involved acquiring machines and software that supposedly were genuine IGT products, but instead were fake. Circuit boards were shipped to the FBI source from Cabrera in Rīga, according to court documents.

Under an agreement reached in May, both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. The maximum penalty they could have received is five years in jail and a USD 250,000 fine.

Prosecution of Cabrera and Mantilla was part of a larger effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat intellectual property crimes.

British authorities have identified a woman from Latvia who was found stabbed to death on an East London street, as well as her mother, whose body was found in their burning home.

Meanwhile, a man who was reportedly the woman’s estranged husband was also found in the home and taken to a hospital, where his condition is listed as stable. He has been placed under arrest, according to the Metropolitan Police of London.

The woman has been identified as 40-year-old Svetlana Zolotovska, according to an Aug. 16 Metropolitan Police press release. She was found on Stansfield Road the morning of Aug. 12 with stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen. Zolotovska was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her mother, 70-year-old Antonia Belska, was found on the ground floor of their burning home on Leamouth Road after officers were led to the address upon making inquiries, according to the Metropolitan Police. Belska died from stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

A search of the home found a 42-year-old man, identified in British media reports as Zolotovska’s estranged husband Sergei Zolotovsky, in the loft area of the home. He had numerous injuries and had apparently attempted suicide.

Zolotovsky, a self-employed engineer originally from Latvia, has been reported to authorities at least four times over domestic disturbances, British media reported.

The couple was going through divorce proceedings, but were in a dispute over the house, according to British media reports.

The Zolotovskys had moved to the United Kingdom eight years ago, British media reported. Belska had arrived three months ago to stay with her daughter, police said.

Police are continuing their investigation and are asking for the public’s assistance.

“We know the younger victim left her address in east London at 07:20 hours to walk to work,” Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rickells said. “She was attacked at the bus stop in Stansfeld Road. We have traced several witnesses but would like to speak to anyone who may have been in the area at that time.”

A pair of Metropolitan Police officers have traveled to Latvia to pursue the investigation, according to London’s Evening Standard newspaper.