A man who ran multiple scam companies in Texas and defrauded thousands of victims posed as a paralegal and offered “legal services” to one victim he met at Burger King for divorce proceedings. He is said to have filed a complaint in the name of
Jesus Lopez, 41, was arrested on March 8 after police revealed he stole more than $21,000 from three different people in multiple frauds in two Texas counties. was arrested on the day. According to KXAN.
On May 25, 2023, the suspected fraudster posed as a salesman at a small car dealership in Mission, Texas, and stole items from the first victim.
He tricked the victim into paying $1,500 for a Chevrolet Impala, but police said Lopez pocketed the cash.
When the victim returned to the premises a short time later, the dealership owner revealed that Lopez was not an employee.
Lopez later met with the second victim, who requested a divorce attorney in August.
This time, he allegedly posed as a paralegal working for a local law firm.
Lopez, who met the victim at a Burger King in Mission, Texas, on August 15, claimed it would cost $500 to “start the divorce process.”
The next day, the alleged scammer met up with the victim again at the same Burger King and scammed him out of an additional $2,500 to proceed with the divorce.
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Police said on August 31, Lopez met with the victim for a third time and defrauded the divorcee of an additional $2,500 under the guise of “legal services.”
Lopez was also paid an additional $800 by the victim at an undisclosed time.
The victim filed a complaint against Lopez with the Mission Police Department on February 22, 2024, and provided screenshots of text messages showing conversations about legal services and money needed to obtain them. provided.
However, this was not the end of the alleged scammer’s schemes.
In November, Lopez posed as a paralegal and demanded $6,700 to get the third victim’s son out of jail on bail.
The third victim told police that after giving the money, Lopez asked for a receipt, but Lopez did not give her a receipt.
According to the report, when they met with the victim again on an unknown date, the victim told him that her son was still in jail on a “citation.”
The alleged scammer then demanded an additional $1,132 from her to resolve the issue and an additional $600 for the release of her son’s impounded vehicle.
According to police, after confirming that the well had not dried up, the man met the third victim again, this time promising her son a job, and gave the woman 180 yen “as payment for a uniform” in return for the fake job. He allegedly charged US dollars.
The woman also gave Lopez an additional $5,000 to help get her son released from prison on Nov. 21.
A suspected scammer stole nearly $20,000 from two victims by tricking them into believing he was a paralegal, police said.
Lopez was charged Saturday with three counts of theft. His bond was set at $155,000.
He was wanted on similar charges for theft from Gaines County and theft in Austin.
