Man Poses as ICE to Scam Immigrants

A San Diego man admitted Wednesday that he posed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to scam Latino immigrants in Orange County. (kesq.com) Davyd George Brand Jimenez, 55, pleaded guilty on April 22, 2026, to 16 federal counts, including false impersonation of a federal officer, mail fraud, wire fraud, fraudulent use of U.S. government seals, and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he targeted more than 25 victims. (kesq.com) Federal prosecutors said Brand Jimenez ran the scheme from April 2019 to November 2020, charging victims between $10,000 and $20,000 while promising work permits, green cards, and U.S. citizenship. The Justice Department said he never worked for ICE and never secured the immigration benefits he promised. (justice.gov) According to the indictment, he showed victims a fake ICE badge and sometimes claimed to be a Homeland Security official or a “G-18” federal officer, which prosecutors said is not a real position. He also gave some victims fabricated immigration papers bearing Department of Homeland Security emblems. (justice.gov) The case landed in federal court as Southern California was already fighting over how immigration agents identify themselves during arrests. In August 2025, a court-approved settlement barred ICE officers in Southern California from posing as local police or using other deceptive tactics during home arrests. (patch.com) That dispute grew sharper in June 2025, when Huntington Park police arrested a 24-year-old man they said may have been posing as a federal immigration agent. Police said they found a firearm, radios, police-type lights, and official-looking Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection documents in his SUV. (patch.com) Brand Jimenez was first charged in May 2023, when a federal grand jury in Santa Ana returned a 25-count indictment. At the time, prosecutors said he had used the fake persona to exploit undocumented members of the Latino community who feared deportation and were seeking legal status. (justice.gov) His guilty plea moves the case from accusation to conviction, with sentencing still ahead in federal court. The same fear he used to collect cash from immigrants is now the centerpiece of the criminal case against him. (kesq.com)