I. Introduction Between the dates of January 1, 2023, and November 3, 2025, KIRA MILANY ROMERO PINTO [DOB REDACTED] ("Defendant 1"), DENIS RIGOBERTO AQUINO MARTINEZ [DOB REDACTED] ("Defendant 2"), and LUIS BALTAZAR LEIVA AQUINO [DOB REDACTED] ("Defendant 3") engaged in a fraud scheme related to immigration legal services. In many instances, Defendant 1 would contact a prospective victim, offer assistance with immigration services by way of her purported attorney, "Isabella Jason." Defendant 1 targeted victims she met at churches in the Twin Cities metro area, including in both Inver Grove Heights and Woodbury.
Defendant 1 required many of the victims to make advance cash payments in order to receive the services, with several of the payments taking place at Defendant 1 and 2's residence in Lake Elmo. Multiple victims reported having contact first with Defendant 2 and Defendant 3 when they arrived at the residence. Defendant 2 and Defendant 3 made representations to victims in order persuade victims to be defrauded by Defendant 1. At no point did any of the victims receive any of the services or benefits promised by Defendants.
In total, the Defendants' fraud scheme resulted in the theft of over $563,700 from at least twenty-five victims. Defendants 1 and 2 are residents of the City of Lake Elmo, Washington County. Defendant 3 has a residence in the City of Lakeville, Dakota County. II. The Scheme a. C. E. C. On July 10, 2025, twelve alleged victims of the Defendants' fraud scheme met with Detective J. Powell with the Mendota Heights Police Department. One victim, [NAME REDACTED]C., informed the investigator that he first met Defendant 1 in January of 2023, when Defendant 1 began attending a church in Inver Grove Heights where C. E. C. Served as Pastor.
Initially, Defendant 1 offered to hire members of the church to work in her restaurants but stated she needed a monetary deposit from the specific victim in order to secure the employment. In many cases, C. E. C. Stated Defendant 1 would tell victims of her scheme that she could help them in various ways, including legal assistance for immigration issues, obtaining visas for loved ones abroad, and assisting with unpaid bills in exchange for a monetary payment. C. E. C. Stated at one point, Defendant 1 offered to sell him a $12,000 "golden card" that would give C. E. C. The ability to help others get United States citizenship.
In many cases, Defendant 1 would reference she was able to provide many of these services through the assistance of her lawyer, "Isabella Jason". At no point did any victim receive the documents or services promised by Defendant 1. C. E. C. Stated that Defendant 1 would often tell potential victims that there are laws in place which prohibit her from just "helping" one person, so she would tell the victims to recruit other individuals to be "helped" by Defendant 1. C. E. C. Also reported he had been a victim of the scheme and given Defendant 1 $29,700 cash on June 14, 2024, based upon her representations.
