Man Admits Posing as ICE to Scam Immigrants
- A Southern California man confessed to impersonating an ICE agent to defraud Latino immigrants. - He scammed victims out of tens of thousands of dollars in the region. - The scheme preyed on fears, prompting calls for community vigilance, patch.com.
A San Diego man admitted in federal court that he posed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to steal money from Latino immigrants in Orange County. (ocregister.com) Davyd George Brand Jimenez, 52, pleaded guilty on April 22 in downtown Los Angeles to 11 felony counts, including impersonating a federal officer, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he targeted more than 25 victims from April 2019 through November 2020. (ocregister.com) Federal prosecutors said Jimenez told victims he could help them get green cards or U.S. citizenship because he was an immigration agent. He collected between $10,000 and $20,000 from each victim and never filed immigration paperwork for them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (justice.gov) The case turned on fear as much as money. Prosecutors said Jimenez used a fake badge and the name and signature of a real federal law enforcement officer to make the scheme look official. (justice.gov) California officials have been warning immigrants about fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and similar scams since at least 2025. Attorney General Rob Bonta said reports had increased as people tried to exploit fear around immigration enforcement. (oag.ca.gov) The federal indictment filed in 2023 said the fraud brought in more than $152,000. Jimenez now faces sentencing on July 16, and prosecutors said the statutory maximum penalties add up to 117 years in prison, a $4 million fine and $152,476 in restitution. (justice.gov) (ocregister.com) The charges were first announced in May 2023, when a federal grand jury in Santa Ana returned a 25-count indictment. That filing said Jimenez lived in San Ysidro and sought out immigrants who were trying to legalize their status in the United States. (justice.gov) The plea closes the case’s main factual dispute but not its punishment phase. In court, Jimenez admitted the fraud; in July, a federal judge will decide how much prison time and restitution he must pay. (ocregister.com)
