El Paso woman described as 'piranha' sentenced to federal prison for defrauding migrants
An El Paso woman, who was described as a "piranha" by federal officials, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after she posed as a federal immigration employee to defraud "numerous" migrants, authorities said.
Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 3, to seven years and three months in prison on each of 10 counts of wire fraud and three years in prison on one count of impersonating a federal employee. The sentences will be served concurrently.
“The message is clear: Have no doubt. Individuals who impersonate a federal officer and exploit trusting individuals for their own personal gain, will be held accountable for their crimes,” Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Division Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola said in a statement. “HSI will leverage its investigative abilities in order to identify, arrest and prosecute these piranhas in society.”
Hernandez, who also is listed under the last name Paredes in federal court records, was sentenced to three years of supervised release on the fraud charges and one year of supervised release on the impersonation charge. The supervised release sentences will be served after she serves her prison term.
She also was ordered to pay $123,275 in restitution to the victims.
The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
Court records listed 10 examples of migrants who were defrauded and the amount of money stolen from the victims. In one case, Hernandez collected $8,000 from a victim. The other amounts range from $1,000 to $2,350.
Hernandez was indicted Jan. 4 by a federal grand on the charges. She was arrested Jan. 23.
After her arrest, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Division officials began receiving calls from dozens of potential victims of Hernandez’s fraud scheme.
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“This defendant misled vulnerable migrants for financial gain by convincing them that she was a federal employee who could assist them on their path to U.S. citizenship,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza said in a statement. “My office will prosecute anyone who fraudulently takes advantage of our federal agencies and their beneficiaries, and we will ensure their victims are afforded proper reparations.”
Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charges April 10 as part of a plea agreement, federal court records show. She was facing up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charges and three years for the impersonation charge.
Dozens of migrants seeking to change their immigration status defrauded
Hernandez falsely presented herself as a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee to undocumented migrants and their family members, a federal complaint affidavit states.
She "represented herself to be familiar with immigration matters to the victims using terms reflecting her knowledge of the immigration system, the federal agencies, and the locations where legitimate immigration matters are handled," the indictment states.
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She claimed she could help the migrants have their immigration applications processed. Hernandez would then charge the victims a "substantial fee," U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas officials said.
Hernandez "amassed thousands of dollars of unexplained wealth within the 18 months coinciding with her fraudulent activity," officials said. The alleged scheme started in 2020.
She would contact the victims via telephone, text message, email and personal meetings. Hernandez would then instruct them to provide various identification forms and documents and was paid in cash, money orders and bank wire transfers, the affidavit states.
Hernandez would collect the documents and then do nothing with them, officials said.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso woman described as 'piranha' sentenced in migrant fraud case
