Authorities deported 267 Latvian nationals from the United States during fiscal year 2010, according to the latest statistical overview published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The number represents a more than 26 percent drop from the previous year.

Of the total, 235 aliens from Latvia were “returned,” while 32 were “removed.” Aliens who are returned are sent back to their home country without going through immigration proceedings, while removal often involves going to court.

Five of the removals involved criminal offenses.

The data come from the latest annual report on immigration enforcement actions, released in June by DHS.

In all, DHS during fiscal year 2010 returned 476,000 foreign nationals to their home country. Another 387,000 were removed—73 percent of them back to Mexico.

In fiscal year 2009, a total of 362 Latvian nationals were returned or removed from the United States.

Latvia joined the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in November 2008, meaning holders of Latvian passports can travel to America without first having to get a visa.

Bruce Rogers, the deputy chief of mission in the U.S. Embassy in Rīga, has died at age 54. He spent a total of six years working in Latvia.

Rogers died unexpectedly in his sleep, according to a June 28 press release from the embassy.

“Bruce loved Latvia passionately, and he loved working on U.S.-Latvian relations,” U.S. Ambassador Judith Garber said in a statement. “He was due to leave in just a few days, and it was very hard for him to go because he loved being here so much, but he knew Latvia would always be in his heart.”

Rogers joined the U.S. Department of State in 1985, serving in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Afghanistan, in addition to Latvia. He served as the political and economic counselor in the Rīga embassy from 2000-2003.

Before returning to Latvia, Rogers served three years as the deputy political advisor in the U.S. Mission to the NATO defense alliance, and spent one year in Afghanistan as the director for provincial reconstruction and local governance at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

In August 2008, Rogers became the deputy chief of mission in Rīga.

Rogers in 1981 earned a bachelor’s degree in history and international relations San Francisco State University and in 2007 received a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He was the recipient of four State Department Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Honor Awards.

He is survived by his wife, Gale, and two children.

A memorial book will be available for signing starting at 9 a.m. June 29 at the U.S. Embassy, 1 Remtes iela, Rīga.

A 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been arrested in Latvia for their alleged involvement in a “scareware” scheme that tricked online readers of the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis into buying fake antivirus software.

U.S. Department of Justice officials announced June 22 that Pēteris Šahurovs and Marina Maslobojeva were arrested June 21 in Rēzekne, Latvia, as part Operation Trident Tribunal—an international effort to battle cybercrime.

The two are charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of computer fraud, according to a Department of Justice press release. Šahurovs and Maslobojeva are alleged to have led the Latvia-based scheme, but federal authorities suspect others were involved, too.

They allegedly created a phony advertising agency named RevolTech that claimed to represent a hotel that wanted to buy advertising on the Star Tribune website, startribune.com. Once the advertising began to run, Šahurovs and Maslobojeva changed the ad’s programming code. Visitors to the website saw their computers freeze up and pop-up messages appear offering what turned out to be fake anti-virus software costing USD 49.95, according to the grand jury indictmenta filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

“Users’ computers unfroze’ if the users paid the defendants for the fake antivirus software, but the malicious software remained hidden on their computers,” according to the Justice Department press release. “Users who failed to purchase the fake antivirus software found that all information, data and files stored on the computer became inaccessible.”

At the Star Tribune, meanwhile, staff had to pull all advertising from the website until it was determined which advertisement was causing problems for users.

The scam ran from about February to September of last year and allegedly led to at least USD 2 million in losses for customers, according to the indictment.

In addition to the arrests of Šahurovs and Maslobojeva, authorities seized more than 40 computers, servers and bank accounts in the United States, Latvia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Operation Trident Tribunal also targeted an international criminal group that infected hundreds of thousands of computers with “scareware,” selling more than USD 72 million in fake antivirus software to unsuspecting clients, according to the Department of Justice. About 960,000 computer users became victims of the scam during a three-year period.

“The global reach of the Internet makes every computer user in the world a potential victim of cybercrime,” Todd Jones, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, said in a statement. “Addressing cybercrime requires international cooperation; and in this case, the FBI, collaborating with our international law enforcement and prosecution partners, has worked tirelessly to disrupt two significant cybercriminal networks. Their efforts demonstrate that no matter the country, Internet criminals will be pursued, caught and prosecuted.”

If convicted on the wire fraud and conspiracy charges, Šahurovs and Maslobojeva could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and USD 250,000 in fines. Conviction on the computer fraud charge could lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and USD 250,000 in fines. They also could be required to pay restitution and lose their illegal profits, according to the Department of Justice.

(Updated 23 JUN 2011 with details from the indictment.)