A man was arrested Monday after he allegedly impersonated a federal officer, federal officials said.

Between Nov. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2011, Jose Mario Carrera-Marrufo posed as an employee, officer or agent of an immigration agency, according to court records.

"Homeland Security Investigations using force multipliers, such as the El Paso FOCUS to, among other things, identify, arrest and help prosecute individuals who falsely assume a position of authority to exploit and extort victims for personal financial gain," said Dennis A. Ulrich, acting special agent in charge of HSI in El Paso. "This case identified an illegal scheme and vulnerability that seriously threatened homeland security and the legal process of obtaining an immigration benefit."

Carrera-Marrufo, a 30-year-old Mexican national, got in contact over the phone, through text messages and email in order to ask victims for money. At times, he met people in person who had heard about him through word-of-mouth, officials said.

Officials said he would then tell the victims to email him identification documents in order for him to start working on acquiring immigration documents.

When Carrera-Marrufo got the documents, officials said, he would then ask the victims to deposit money into bank accounts that he was linked to. The bank accounts were not in his name, officials said.

Officials said Carrera-Marrufo would give the victims "package deals" so that if they referred him to others, the victim would get a discount.

None of the victims ever received immigration documents, officials said.

"As part of the scheme ... to defraud, (he) targeted individuals who had exhausted, or were in the process of exhausting all legitimate means to secure immigration documentation for their relatives and themselves," the indictment reads.

Carrera-Marrufo would receive anywhere between $1,000 and $10,800 from each victim, according to the indictment.

Carrera-Marrufo was charged with wire fraud, impersonation of an officer or employee of the United States and money laundering.