Fake ICE Agent Scams Latino Immigrants
- SoCal man pleaded guilty to impersonating ICE agent to defraud Latino immigrants. - He stole tens of thousands of dollars from victims fearing deportation. - Case highlights vulnerabilities exploited in immigrant communities (patch.com).
A San Diego man has pleaded guilty to posing as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and taking money from Orange County immigrants who were trying to stay in the United States. (justice.gov, 10news.com) Davyd George Brand Jimenez, 55, of San Ysidro, entered his plea in Los Angeles on April 22 to 10 counts of false impersonation of a federal officer, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count each of fraudulent use of U.S. government seals and aggravated identity theft. (10news.com, kesq.com) Federal prosecutors said he targeted more than 25 victims between April 2019 and November 2020, charging each person between $10,000 and $20,000 for promised work permits, green cards, or citizenship that never arrived. (justice.gov, hoodline.com) According to the 2023 indictment, Brand Jimenez showed victims a fake ICE badge, claimed he was a special agent or “Homeland Security” official, and sometimes used the invented title “G-18” federal official. (justice.gov) Prosecutors said he also created bogus immigration papers bearing Department of Homeland Security emblems and gave one victim a fake stay-of-deportation order as proof that removal had been stopped. (justice.gov) The case sits inside a long-running category of fraud that federal agencies track separately from ordinary consumer scams: people posing as lawyers, “notarios,” or immigration officials to sell paperwork, legal status, or protection they cannot provide. (uscis.gov, justice.gov) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services tells applicants that only a licensed attorney or an accredited representative can give legal advice in immigration matters, and it warns people not to trust anyone who guarantees a specific result. (uscis.gov, justice.gov) The Executive Office for Immigration Review separately advises people not to pay without a receipt and to keep copies of every application filed in their name, steps that become critical when a scammer submits nothing at all. (justice.gov, justice.gov) Brand Jimenez is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16, and the Orange County Register reported he faces up to 117 years in prison, a $4 million fine, and $152,476 in restitution to at least 25 victims. (ocregister.com)
