A self-proclaimed “chaplain” accused of selling counterfeit U.S. government badges and shirts to help immigrants avoid deportation has pleaded guilty to fraud charges, court records show.
Mario Cesar Dos Santos Jr., a Brazilian national who investigators said came to the U.S. in 2016 and overstayed his visa, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced next month. He is currently undergoing deportation proceedings, federal officials said.
In a written plea agreement, Dos Santos admitted he held chaplain training seminars in Orlando and other cities where he sold attendees gold badges, shirts and other merchandise emblazoned with the seal of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Chaplain trainees were taught the items, which included official-looking ID cards containing logos for DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, would “give them a level of immunity from immigration enforcement” and “keep them safe from deportation,” according to a special agent with DHS’s Office of Inspector General.
Dos Santos was the chief executive of the Chaplain Emergency Management Agency, or CEMA, according to the organization’s now-defunct website.
Although CEMA claimed it was “an agency of the United States of America,” authorities said the Massachusetts-based organization was not affiliated with the federal government.
CEMA’s logo appeared to feature the DHS seal depicting an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch in its talons. The image had been modified slightly to read “U.S. Department of Homeland Chaplain.”
Federal authorities launched an investigation into CEMA last year after receiving emails indicating Dos Santos was falsely representing the organization as a DHS affiliate while hosting “Chaplaincy Training Courses” in Orlando, Clermont and other locations.
CEMA’s chaplain courses, which were free to attend but cost $400 to $450 for the chaplaincy certification, are predominantly aimed at “Brazilian immigrants and foreign nationals,” according to investigators.
A trainee who attended a course in Clermont later received an ID card that contained official and modified seals for DHS, FEMA and the FBI, authorities alleged.
Investigators claim Dos Santos also sold CEMA merchandise at the seminars, including badges, polo shirts, bumper stickers and jackets bearing DHS or FEMA seals.
Dos Santos reportedly told attendees the ID cards and badges authorized them to support law enforcement during emergency situations.
“He also told them that this would give them a level of immunity from immigration enforcement and would keep them safe from deportation,” a federal investigator wrote in an affidavit.
During an undercover operation at an Orlando training seminar in September, a CEMA volunteer discussed the merchandise.
“(She) stated her CEMA badge helped her get through an airport’s security with no issues and that, because she displayed her CEMA badge, she did not have to pay for her extra luggage,” an investigator wrote. “The unidentified CEMA volunteer also told (the witness) that having her CEMA shirt inside her suitcase made a difference when airport security scanned her luggage with an X-ray.”
During the seminar attended by undercover investigators, Dos Santos allegedly introduced himself as a Harvard graduate with a medical degree. Federal authorities later determined both claims were false.
Dos Santos also claimed to work at FEMA once a week and that the federal government had given him permission to carry an AR-15 rifle in his vehicle, court records show.
Dos Santos and his organization are not affiliated with FEMA or DHS, according to federal authorities.
U.S. Marshals arrested Dos Santos in February.
Dos Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and unlawful use of government seals last month.
“Impersonating federal government agencies and/or officials is a serious crime,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. “The collective values and missions of these agencies represent the communities they serve and must be protected.”
