A man was has been arrested on suspicion of impersonating a federal agent and threatening to deport a woman to Mexico if she did not pay him a large amount of cash, officials said.
Luis Flores-Mendoza, 26, of Santa Ana, was arrested on Saturday, according to a Placentia Police Department news release.
He allegedly identified himself as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and tried to exhort a woman on June 6 at an Anaheim restaurant where she worked.
He allegedly wore a green uniform similar to a police uniform complete with a vest, badge and gun. He allegedly gave her a counterfeit letter stating that ICE had an immigration case against her, police said.
The suspect threatened to deport her and her daughter to Mexico if she did not pay him a large sum of cash, police said.
After the woman filed a report on Friday alleging she was a victim of extortion, officers waited for the suspect in a Placentia location where the victim agreed to meet him on Saturday.
Police said Flores-Mendoza was driving a vehicle that looked like a police car and had a replica federal officer badge.
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He confessed in a police interview to attempting to extort money from the woman, officers said.
"I don't recall any in our jurisdiction, but it does happen — police impersonating officers from the federal level down to the local and municipal level," said Capt. Eric Point of the Placentia Police Department.
Placentia police ask that anyone with information about this case call (714) 993-8146.
