BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn man stole $5,000 from multiple people after posing as an immigration officer and promising to help them with getting green cards or citizenship, prosecutors said.
Israel Torres, 57, is facing up to seven years in prison after being arraigned on fraud and grand larceny charges Wednesday.
The East New York man pretended to be an employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while he defrauded at least three people in 2015, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
“Not only is this defendant alleged to have stolen money, he betrayed immigrants who needed help,” acting DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
Torres first met a woman in March 2015 and offered to help get a green card for her relative in the Dominican Republic, according to officials. The woman paid him $800 and Torres gave her a receipt. But her relative never was granted permanent residency and the woman asked repeatedly for her money back, officials said.
He refunded her just $300.
Torres met another woman in April 2015 who asked for help in getting a green card for her husband. He said he could assist her in exchange for $3,200, but Torres never gave her a receipt and her husband never obtained legal permanent residency, prosecutors said.
That same month, he met another woman who asked for help getting her citizenship, and Torres told her he could help expedite the process for $1,000, authorities said. She paid in cash but never got her citizenship.
Investigators found that no paperwork was ever filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and that Torres did not work at the agency.
“We will not allow scammers to take advantage of the current climate of fear and confusion in the immigrant community to line their own pockets while making false promises," Gonzalez said. "Now more than ever, immigrants in our city must feel safe and know that law enforcement agencies are here to protect them.”
Torres was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme court Wednesday and held on $10,000 bail.
His next court appearance is March 29.
Information on Torres’s lawyer was not immediately available.
