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Police arrested two Gaithersburg women and a Germantown man Wednesday in connection with an alleged scheme to offer fraudulent United States citizenship.

Five people paid Erlinda Sandra Marin, 52, of the 18000 block of Cactus Court in Gaithersburg, more than $97,000 total because she promised them U.S. citizenship, Montgomery County police said.

Catholic Charities, a non-profit that works with the Hispanic population in the Washington, D.C., area, notified police Feb. 11 of a possible scam.

One man was referred to Marin in early December 2007; he believed she was a doctor and could treat a knee injury, police said.

During the treatment, Marin said she could obtain citizenship for the man for $9,000, police said.

The man agreed.

The man paid Marin $6,000 in January 2008, police said. Over the next few months, he paid $3,000 more.

Marin told the man she needed another $1,000 for a waiver and $1,200 for fingerprint cards, police said.

After he paid, he went to Marin's house where her daughter, Sandra Marin Rivera, 25, of the 19600 block of Framingham Drive in Gaithersburg, completed the fingerprint cards, police said.

When the man went back to Marin's house in early 2009 to complete residency papers, police said, he was introduced to a man who called himself Jim.

Jim wore military-style boots and had a gun in a leg-holster, police said. He presented himself as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Police say Jim was actually Robert Fred Mejia, who told the man to not talk about the citizenship deal or he would be deported.

Marin, Rivera and Meija were arrested Wednesday, police said.

Montgomery County Police charged Marin, Rivera and Mejia each with five counts of felony theft over $500, one count of theft scheme between $10,000 and $100,000, one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, and one count of theft scheme over $500.

Marin was also charged with two counts of operating a medical practice without a license.

Mejia was also charged with one count of impersonating a police officer or federal agent.

Marin and Mejia are being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville on $200,000 bail each.

Rivera was released today after posting a $50,000 bond.

Cpl. Dan Friz, a Montgomery County Police spokesman, said police believe more people might have fallen for the scam. He wants those people to come forward.

Investigating crimes within the immigrant community can be difficult, he said. "One of the fears that has cropped up is that if an undocumented person reports a crime, the police department will investigate them for being undocumented."

County police do not investigate whether a person is in the country legally, he said.

Attorney information for Marin, Meija and Rivera was not immediately available.

Know something about this scam?

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English and Spanish speaking operators are available.

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