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Juan Cedillo, 70, of Olympia, Washington, pleaded guilty on Monday, June 2, to the charge of first-degree scheme to defraud for orchestrating a years-long immigration fraud scheme targeting undocumented families in Westchester, District Attorney Susan Cacace said.
From November 2013 through February 2019, Cedillo traveled from Washington to Yonkers to meet with immigrant families—primarily from the Hispanic community—and convinced them to join his phony organization in exchange for false promises of U-Visas and eventual green cards, prosecutors said.
In reality, Cedillo had no legal authority to obtain visas and fabricated claims of government ties, falsely telling victims he had connections to the CIA, FBI, and even the White House. He charged up to $8,000 per family, claiming membership in his so-called “US Counter Insurgents Association of Justice” was required to obtain immigration documents.
"Mr. Cedillo took advantage of an extremely vulnerable population and ensnared them in his financial trap," Cacace said in a statement on Monday, adding, "This defendant’s traveling circus of fraud comes to an end, today."
As part of his guilty plea, Cedillo faces a promised sentence of 1 to 3 years in state prison and will be required to reimburse up to $80,000 to his victims.
Fugitive Turned Convicted Felon
As Daily Voice previously reported in July 2024, Cedillo was originally indicted on 87 counts in 2019 following a Yonkers Police investigation. He was initially arraigned and jailed but later released and returned to Washington, where he made a few virtual court appearances. After failing to appear in person, an arrest warrant was issued.
In July 2024, Cedillo was finally captured in Olympia by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshals Regional Task Force. He was extradited to New York by the Westchester County Police Warrant-Fugitive Unit and held at Westchester County Jail.
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