Allegedly posed as federal agent

EL PASO — ICE agents from Homeland Security Investigations have  arrested a 30-year old man and charged him with stealing from others, with a false promise to hasten their citizenship process.

They moved Jose Mario Carrera Marrufo from the county jail to the federal courthouse at midday Tuesday, for a hearing in front of a U.S. magistrate.

 Under the alleged scheme, Marrufo preyed on immigrants from Mexico, many of them working legally in the El Paso area.  Posing as a federal agent. he would allegedly promise a faster path to citizenship in exchange for money up front. But agents say, Marrufo would then simply disappear with the money. They say he may have pocketed as much as a half million dollars before his arrest.