A federal grand jury indicted a San Diego County fugitive for impersonating a federal agent and defrauding more than 25 victims in Orange County seeking work permits, legal residency and U.S. citizenship, prosecutors announced Thursday, May 25.
Davyd George Brand Jimenez, 52, who pretended to be a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, primarily targeted undocumented Latino victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Brand Jimenez, of San Ysidro, was named in a 25-count indictment, with 10 counts of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee, three counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of fraudulent possession and use of U.S. government seals, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of misusing a United States passport, the office said in a news release.
From April 2019 to November 2020, Brand Jimenez charged each victim – most of whom were illegally in the United States – between $10,000 and $20,000, according to the indictment.
Brand Jimenez showed a fake ICE badge when meeting with victims, and occasionally presented himself as a “G-18” federal official – a non-existent position, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
He failed to file immigration paperwork for his victims and never obtained benefits for them, prosecutors said. He allegedly gave one victim a phony stay of deportation order.
Brand Jimenez failed to appear for a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty in an unrelated narcotics case in San Diego federal court, authorities said, and he is currently a fugitive.
Source: Orange County Register
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