A man who was once a prominent Latino rights leader in Las Vegas has pleaded guilty to two felony charges, according to a Clark County court official. He was accused of scamming immigrants.
Rene Orozco was the Nevada director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, a national Latino civil rights group.
In a criminal complaint dated August 2010, he was charged with stealing from more than 20 Latino victims who paid him for legal help that he never delivered. In total, he was charged with 36 counts of theft and burglary.
Orozco had a Spanish language radio show, and advertised immigration and legal services, though he was not a licensed attorney.
Clark County Court information officer Mary Ann Price confirmed that Orozco pled guilty to one count of felony theft that encompasses all of the victims, and one count of felony burglary.
"LULAC was also deceived by this individual's actions," wrote Brent Wilkes, national LULAC Executive Director in an emailed statement. "Our heart goes out to those individuals who fell victim to his illegal behavior but we are gratified that he will be held accountable for taking advantage of immigrants, a vulnerable population in this country."
Orozco has agreed to pay back more than $24,000 thousand dollars to his victims, and is likely to receive probation at his August sentencing, according to Price.
