An El Paso woman was arrested Monday in El Paso on criminal charges related to her alleged wire fraud and impersonation of a federal employee.
According to court documents, Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, portrayed herself to be a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) employee and defrauded more than 20 victims by providing them the false pretext that she would process their immigration applications for a substantial fee. Hernandez’s victims provided her with the documentation required to file and adjust their immigration status. Investigators revealed that Hernandez had amassed more than $400,000 of unexplained wealth within the 18 months coinciding with her fraudulent activity.
An indictment returned by an El Paso grand jury charges Hernandez with 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of impersonating an employee of the United States. The maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment on each wire fraud count and three years on the impersonation count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso Division made the announcement.
HSI El Paso is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Aguayo is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.