Manhattan Man Who Scammed Immigrants Sentenced To Prison: Prosecutors

MANHATTAN, NY — A Manhattan man who admitted to posing as an immigration officer and falsely promising to help immigrants in exchange for money was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Juan Nieves was sentenced to six years in prison after exploiting undocumented immigrants in New York and Connecticut in 2015, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Nieves, 49, pleaded guilty to charges that he impersonated federal officials and defrauded undocumented immigrants using the fake persona.

As part of his charade, Nieves told unsuspecting families that he was a "boss" with "United States Immigration" and that he signed the final paperwork allowing an undocumented migrant to stay in the U.S. or mandating their deportation, federal prosecutors said in a statement. He admitted to promising to help families with their paperwork in exchange for thousands of dollars, and took from them legitimate immigration paperwork and copies of identification documents.

He even went so far as to make fake phone calls to his "colleagues" at the U.S. government in front of the people he scammed, according to prosecutors.

The U.S. attorney's office for Manhattan announced Nieves' sentencing on Wednesday.

"Juan Nieves exploited vulnerable immigrants working toward U.S. citizenship by posing as a federal immigration officer, charging his victims fraudulent fees while providing no assistance," the acting U.S. attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. "Nieves not only defrauded his victims of money but also undermined their trust in the immigration system."

Nieves posed as an officer in 2015, before President Donald Trump's election and hardline immigration policies sparked fear among immigrant communities and reports of similar scams. In February, the New York attorney general cautioned immigrant communities throughout the state to be wary of posers threatening to deport undocumented immigrants unless they paid the scam artists money.

In addition to his federal prison sentence, Nieves has to forfeit about $15,000 and is subject to three years of probation.

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