Leon Herrera, False Impersonation, New Mexico 2015

Las Vegas Man Sentenced for Falsely Impersonating a Federal Officer

In a shocking case of public corruption, Leon Herrera, 37, of Las Vegas, N.M., was sentenced to a year of probation for falsely impersonating a federal officer. Herrera was also ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.

On Dec. 15, 2014, Herrera entered his guilty plea to a felony information charging him with impersonating a Special Agent of the DEA. The crime occurred in Colfax County, N.M.

According to Herrera’s plea agreement, he received a call from his friend, a deputy sheriff in Colfax County, while the friend was conducting a traffic stop on motorists he believed to be drug traffickers. The friend reported to Herrera that he found approximately $8,000.00 cash in the motorists’ vehicle.

The friend then asked Herrera to speak with one of the motorists and tell him that he was a DEA Special Agent and intended to seize the currency as proceeds of criminal activity. Herrera acquiesced to his friend’s request and had a conversation with one of the motorists during which he falsely identified himself as a representative of the DEA and would be seizing the money for law enforcement purposes.

The plea agreement states that the friend told him that he intended to keep the currency for his personal use, and offered to give $1,000.00 to Herrera for assisting him. Herrera later learned that the motorists were undercover law enforcement officers and that the currency seized from their vehicle, $7,500.00, belonged to the FBI.

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe and Albuquerque offices of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan prosecuted the case.

Herrera was sentenced on Oct. 16, 2015, in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M. He was ordered to a year of probation and to perform 250 hours of community service. The exact date of the crime was Dec. 15, 2014, in Colfax County, N.M.

Herrera’s crime involved impersonating a Special Agent of the DEA and seizing $7,500.00 in cash that belonged to the FBI. The crime was a serious breach of trust and a threat to public safety.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/las-vegas-nm-man-sentenced-falsely-impersonating-federal-officer