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June 24, 2021Laredo, TX, United StatesProfessional Responsibility

South Texas man sent to prison for claiming to be a federal immigration officer

LAREDO, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Thursday to 57 months in federal prison for admitting to wire fraud and extortion under the color of official right.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Professional and Responsibility (OPR) jointly conducted the investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Laredo and the Laredo Police Department (LPD).

Rito Salomon Palacios, 53, from Laredo, was sentenced June 24. His sentence is to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Palacios masqueraded at varying times as an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an immigration officer or another federal officer. At the time of his plea, the court also heard he delivered receipts in documents bearing the seal of the U.S. Department of Transportation and CBP.

Palacios defrauded and extorted members of the public who were noncitizens. He took money or property by false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises to deliver immigration visas, permits or residency in the United States. As part of the scheme, he utilized the internet to set appointments for his victims to be fingerprinted. Palacios admitted as part of the plea that he demanded and obtained more than $72,000 from the fraud and extortion scheme.

During sentencing, the judge noted how heartless Palacios was in relation to his victims as well as his history of thefts and lies and the unfortunate lack of real punishment in previous cases. The court upwardly departed and raised his criminal history category by two levels to adequately reflect his criminal history. The judge also mentioned his threats and aggression and considered Palacios a threat to the community. Palacios pleaded guilty Sept. 9, 2020.

Palacios remains out of bond and has been ordered to voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

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