OREM, Utah (ABC4) — A man has been charged Wednesday with multiple felonies after he allegedly defrauded two immigrants by claiming he was a paralegal who could help them obtain a lawful U.S. citizenship status.

Oscar Flores, 65, was arrested and charged on Feb. 15 at the Fourth District Court in Utah County with a second-degree pattern of unlawful activity, third-degree communications fraud, and three counts of third-degree forgery.

According to court documents, the Utah Attorney General’s Office received a request from the Orem Police Department to assist with a possible fraud-related complaint in 2022.

Two individuals had been referred to Flores, who claimed to be a paralegal, for help in completing their immigration processes between January 2022 and January 2023, charging documents say.

They then reportedly wrote checks totaling over $2,000 addressed to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and gave them to Flores. However, he never cashed them. When questioned, Flores allegedly said the checks needed to come out of his business account and not theirs.

As a result, the two individuals sent Flores money so he could author the checks. When they asked Flores for updates on their application status, he reportedly sent them an email he received from the Department of Homeland Security containing the updates.

Flores also presented them with documents from the USCIS with receipt numbers, court documents say.

Authorities later ran those receipt numbers and confirmed that they were forged.

Flores was arrested by Utah County deputies in Orem on Wednesday. He allegedly admitted to law enforcement he took money from the two individuals and did not complete their applications.

His bond is set at $20,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1.