KIDNAPPING SCAM BY MEXICAN PRISON INMATE

San Pedro Man Denies Charges He Ran Kidnapping Scam From Mexican Prison

 

LAPPL News Watch

November 13, 2020

 

A San Pedro man imprisoned in Mexico ran a “virtual kidnapping” scheme that duped dozens of Americans into paying ransoms to free family members who were never actually kidnapped, according to federal prosecutors. 

Julio Manuel Reyes Zuniga, 48, appeared in a Los Angeles court on Thursday after being extradited this week from Mexico. He pleaded not guilty to 31 counts, including extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, foreign communication of threats and conspiracy to launder money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

Reyes Zuniga, a reputed member of the Rancho San Pedro street gang, ran the scheme from 2015 to 2018 while he was locked up for murder at the Santa Martha Acatitla Prison near Mexico City, prosecutors said. He finished his sentence earlier this year and was held for extradition in the extortion case. 

Reyes Zuniga and co-conspirators used smuggled cellphones to call their victims and claim they had kidnapped a loved one and planned to harm the person unless a ransom was paid, according to the indictment. In reality, no kidnappings had taken place.