Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 25, 2024, Juan Carlos Martinez-Napoles (age: 38) of Utah, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for impersonating a federal officer and wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his crime and to serve two years on supervised release following his prison sentence.
According to court documents, between approximately September 2018 and December 2019, Martinez-Napoles posed as an immigration agent from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and falsely represented to numerous victims that he could assist them in achieving legal status in the United States for a fee. During the course of his scheme, Martinez-Napoles induced three Wisconsin families to pay him approximately $45,000 in exchange for his “services.” He also threatened to have members of one family deported if they did not pay him significant fees.
At the sentencing hearing, United States District Court Chief Judge Pamela Pepper discussed the serious nature of the crime and the need to deter the defendant and others from engaging in this type of fraud.