Two Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud and Impersonating Immigration Officials

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Michael Ruiz, age 53, and James Mondell, age 55, both of Greenville, South Carolina, were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr.  Ruiz was sentenced to a term of incarceration of 160 months to be followed by 3 years of Supervised Release.  He was additionally ordered to pay $54,894.00 in restitution.  Mondell was sentenced to a term of incarceration of 40 months to be followed by 3 years of Supervised Release.  He was additionally ordered to pay $3,000.00 in restitution.

Both defendants entered pleas of guilty on September 20, 2017.  The facts, presented at the guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens, established that Ruiz devised a scheme in which he pretended to be an Immigration Official and offered to take care of illegal aliens’ immigration problems in exchange for a fee.  A number of aliens agreed to pay Ruiz such fees for his services.  Ruiz did absolutely nothing for these aliens, however, he demanded more and more money ultimately threatening to have them deported if he did not receive further payments.  Additionally, Ruiz told one alien that he could have his family in Guatemala enter the United States and gain legal status in exchange for a fee.  This led to numerous international telephone calls which are the basis for the wire fraud charges.  Mondell played a lesser role in the offense.  Ruiz would have Mondell with him when he met with the aliens and due to Mondell’s size his presence alone served to intimidate the victims.  Additionally, Mondell was involved in handling the payments which were often in the form of money orders which Mondell would cash for Ruiz. 

United States Attorney Drake further stated that in addition each defendant received a further term of incarceration due to the fact that their offenses had been committed while they were already on Supervised Release for other crimes.  Ruiz received 24 months to be served consecutively to the 160 months referenced above.  Mondell received 27 months to be served consecutively to the 40 months referenced above.

This case was investigated by agents of ICE-Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney David Stephens, of the Greenville office, prosecuted the case.

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