ST. THOMAS — George W. Lewis, Jr., 50, pleaded guilty today in District Court here\u00a0to one count of impersonating a federal officer and one count of blackmail, United States\u00a0Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced this evening via press release.<\/p>\n
According to court records, beginning in October 2014, Lewis befriended an undocumented\u00a0immigrant and claimed to be an immigration agent employed by the Department of Homeland Security\u00a0Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Defendant\u00a0then manipulated the undocumented immigrant into a sexual relationship under the threat that he would\u00a0have the undocumented immigrant deported from the United States.<\/p>\n
District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez ordered Lewis, who was released on bond, to surrender to\u00a0the U.S. Marshals Service on January 4, 2016. Sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2016.<\/p>\n
Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in charge of HSI in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands\u00a0said: \u201cRegrettably, schemes like this involving the impersonation of federal officers potentially\u00a0undermine the public’s confidence in their government and law enforcement. HSI will continue to\u00a0aggressively pursue those who exploit innocent individuals. Having people come forward to report such\u00a0schemes is crucial to deterring this type of fraud and preventing others from becoming victims.\u201d<\/p>\n
David D\u2019Amato, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,\u00a0Office of Professional Responsibility, Southeast Region, said: \u201cThis prosecution and plea represents the\u00a0collaborative effort of the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility and Homeland Security\u00a0Investigations, and sends a strong message that criminal acts such as those perpetrated by Mr. Lewis will\u00a0be vigorously pursued. Taking advantage of foreign nationals in the immigration system for any reason\u00a0will not be tolerated, and the motive of blackmail for personal gain is especially egregious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case was investigated by HSI and OPR. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States\u00a0Attorney Everard E. Potter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. THOMAS — George W. Lewis, Jr., 50, pleaded guilty today in District Court here\u00a0to one count of impersonating a federal officer and one count of blackmail, United States\u00a0Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced this evening via press release. According to court records, beginning in October 2014, Lewis befriended an undocumented\u00a0immigrant and claimed to be an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,11,191,2474,147],"tags":[3768,3770,3769,121],"yoast_head":"\n