ICE Impersonator Goes To Prison For Extortion: COURT

SANTA ANA, CA — A 27-year-old man was sentenced Monday to eight months in federal prison for impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to extort $2,000 from an Orange County restaurant worker who feared deportation.

Luis Flores-Mendoza of Santa Ana pleaded guilty Sept. 1. His attorney, Jason Hannan, argued for six months of home detention and community service.

U.S. District Judge James Selna sided with federal prosecutors, who countered that the defendant "preyed on and attempted to extort a member of a vulnerable community" and said a prison sentence would send a public message deterring others from doing the same, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Keenan.

The victim reported the extortion attempt to Placentia police on July 1, 2016. Flores-Mendoza met the woman at the Anaheim restaurant where she worked in June 2016, according to authorities, who said he identified himself as an ICE agent and was wearing what appeared to be a police tactical uniform, complete with a vest, badge and handgun.

He told the unnamed victim that he had an immigration case pending against her and that she needed to quit her job, which she did, and then he demanded $2,000 so he could "resolve" or "`delay" deportation proceedings, Keenan said.

Flores-Mendoza arranged to meet the woman in Placentia, where he was arrested at a shopping center without incident.

The defendant wrote a letter to the judge, saying he was brought to the U.S. when he was 4, and that he endured years of sexual abuse from a relative.

Flores-Mendoza said the trauma began when he was 11 and a relative of his mother came to live with them from Mexico and "started to rape me four to five times a week every night."

Flores-Mendoza said that when he protested, the relative threatened to molest his sister, so he put up with it. He said his "dream" job would be to work for a funeral home so he could save up enough money to buy his mother a house.

"But I lost everything the day I committed the stupid mistake of my life," he wrote. "I also lost a lot of my friends. They hated me after this and stopped talking to me. I have great regret for what I have done. I hate myself. I feel like a monster. I am embarrassed to see family and old friends in the streets. It is something that I wish I would have never done and wish it will go away, but I have to live with it for the rest of my life."

Flores-Mendoza said he wanted to stay free from custody so he could continue to take classes to earn a GED diploma.

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