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Washington State resident Juan Cedillo, 63, was arrested last month on a third-degree grand larceny charge, police said. During his scheme, he allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from illegal immigrants.
Cedillo's arrest was announced at a press conference at Saint Peter’s Church on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers on Thursday afternoon, March 28.
According to police, Cedillo collected $2,500 checks from residents of Riverview Place in Yonkers in December 2013 and March 2014, in exchange for “the false promise that he would process an application for their United States citizenship,” court records note. “(Cedillo) had no intention of ever fulfilling such promise or processing any such application.”
It is alleged that Cedillo represented himself as an operator with connections to different federal agencies and that he had the ability to successfully advocate on his client's behalf to obtain a U-Visa and legal status through his dissolved company. Cedillo required participants to join his organization for the amount of $5,000, and then for an additional $3,000, he would process their application, police said.
According to police, in reality, Cedillo would simply submit a U-Visa application – which is available online – with false and incomplete information and submit it to the federal government for standard processing. Cedillo allegedly falsely indicated that the applicants were a victim of crime (a requirement for a successful U-Visa application), and he failed to include supporting documents.
Police investigators noted that none of Cedillo's U-Visa applications for Yonkers families have been approved or led to a change of immigration status.
Cedillo has been held in the Westchester County Jail since his arrest. He reportedly has a lengthy rap sheet that involves check fraud cases throughout the country, dating back decades. Cedillo is scheduled to appear in Yonkers City Court on Monday to respond to the charges.
“Yonkers stands strong in supporting our most vulnerable communities,” Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said. “This individual preyed on our residents, selling them hope and promise for a better life, and instead delivered deceit and disappointment."
Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner added, “The Yonkers Police Department is committed to protecting all our residents. Our strong relationship with all our community members benefits both law enforcement and the people of Yonkers, creating that essential cooperation necessary to make sure that those who would target our residents are arrested and delivered into the Criminal Justice System.”
Cedillo is scheduled to appear in court on April 1 to respond to the charge. Additional charges are expected to be added or upgraded as the investigation continues. Check Daily Voice for updates.
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