RIVERSIDE, CALIF.
Authorities arrested a former DEA agent who teamed up with another man to steal money from two victims in two, separate fraudulent schemes, officials said.
David Garcia Herrera, 70, of Torrance, was arrested Thursday night at Los Angeles International Airport by special agents with the FBI.
Herrera, who is expected to be arraigned on a nine-count indictment this afternoon in U.S. District Court.
Herrera posed as an FBI agent and worked with Jerome Arthur Whittington, 65, of La Quinta, who posed as a former federal prosecutor.
If they are convicted of the nine counts in the indictments, both defendants face up to 170 years in federal prison.
Herrera and Whittington allegedly worked together to defraud two victims, one of whom lost money in fraudulent investments, and another who was trying to obtain immigration benefits for his wife..
In the first scheme, the two concocted a scheme to defraud a man who enlisted their help in recovering money from two companies, Pacific Property Assets and Medical Capital Corporation. The victim lost money in in a fraudulent scheme related to the two companies, officials said.
In the first scheme, this is what allegedly happened, according to officials:
- Whittington posed as an attorney and Herrera pretended to be an FBI special agent as they falsely promised the victim they could help him recover losses in fraudulent schemes related to two companies, Pacific Property Assets and Medical Capital Corporation.
- Whittington and Herrera told the victim that they were able to seize assets from the two fraudulent companies, but the victim needed to provide money that would be used to “post bonds” that were required prior to seizing the assets.
- After Whittington claimed that he had obtained a $4 million judgment, Whittington told the victim that representatives from the companies and other victims were very angry and that he should leave the country to avoid confrontations and harassment.
- The victim paid Whittington approximately $290,000 for help in recovering his losses, but Whittington simply used the money for his own person expenses, which included making payments to other victims of his scheme and to Herrera.
In the second scheme, this is what allegedly occurred, officials stated:
- Whittington also posed as an attorney.
- Herrera told the victim in this second scheme that he was an investigator with the FBI and that Whittington was a former federal prosecutor.
- Based on these and other false statements and promises, the victim retained Whittington and paid approximately $8,500 for assistance in his wife’s immigration case – help that was never provided.
Whittington and Herrera are also charged with making false statements on a passport application.
In relation to this count, Herrera allegedly falsely stated that he had been a personal friend of Whittington for seven years.
Whittington also faces two counts of wire fraud contained in a separate indictment filed just over one year ago.
That indictment alleges that Whittington used lies and misrepresentations – including pretending to be an attorney – to convince one victim to invest in a real estate deal and another to put money into a business venture involving an Internet browser, both of which were fraudulent.
As a result of the two schemes outlined in this indictment, the two victims lost approximately $165,000.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.