He posed as an ICE official and demanded free food; then came threats, feds say

Miami-Dade County admin September 22, 2026 0 Comments

He posed as an ICE official and demanded free food; then came threats, feds say

A Colombian man accused of posing as a high-ranking ICE official to extort a Venezuelan food-truck operator in Miami-Dade had been showing up at the business repeatedly, placing a gun on a table and demanding free food before the encounters escalated into threats to plant drugs and pistol-whip the owner’s son, according to a newly filed federal complaint.

Jonathan Christian Gonzalez Reyes, 45, a Colombian national living in Miami, is charged with falsely impersonating a federal officer after authorities say he used a badge, firearm and a vehicle equipped with police-style lights and sirens to convince the food-truck operator that he worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The victim, identified in court records only by his initials, is a Venezuelan legal permanent resident who operates the food truck with his son, according to an affidavit filed by an ICE senior special agent.

The confrontation that led to the federal charge unfolded at 11:14 p.m. on July 8 and was captured by surveillance cameras, according to the complaint.

Gonzalez Reyes drove near the food truck and sounded an air horn resembling one used by police, the complaint states. Blue lights resembling law-enforcement lights illuminated the inside of his vehicle, investigators said.

He then parked and approached the Venezuelan man with a holstered firearm, radio and badge visible on his hip, according to the affidavit. Gonzalez Reyes allegedly told the man that he held a top position at ICE.

But investigators say his pitch quickly turned to money.

Read More: Miami-Dade man arrested for impersonating ICE agent, sheriff’s office says.

Gonzalez Reyes offered to help the man with immigration issues if the food-truck operator helped him in return, according to the affidavit. The victim told investigators that he understood Gonzalez Reyes to be proposing an exchange of “money for protection.”

Gonzalez Reyes allegedly bolstered his pitch by telling the man that another person had previously paid him $10,000 for help with immigration problems.

The complaint does not say what specific immigration issue the Venezuelan man needed help with or how much money Gonzalez Reyes allegedly demanded from him.

Encounter turns threatening

When the food-truck operator did not go along with the demand, the encounter became more menacing, according to investigators.

Gonzalez Reyes threatened to plant drugs inside the food truck so the business would be shut down. He then unholstered his firearm and threatened to pistol-whip the man’s son, according to the affidavit.

The food-truck operator told investigators that he feared for his life when Gonzalez Reyes displayed the weapon.

Gonzalez Reyes then returned to his vehicle and drove away with its police-style siren activated, investigators said. The food-truck operator called his son, who contacted police.

But the July confrontation was only the latest in a series of encounters.

When police arrived that night, the victim told officers that Gonzalez Reyes had previously visited the business and presented himself as an ICE agent. At that point, the victim knew him only as Jonathan, but surveillance cameras had captured the license plate on his vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Four days later, on July 12, investigators showed the victim a six-person photo lineup. He identified Gonzalez Reyes as the man who had claimed to be an ICE agent and threatened his son, the complaint says. Investigators then used the vehicle registration to determine Gonzalez Reyes’ address.

Demands for free food

The investigation eventually revealed allegations of a longer pattern of intimidation.

During a Sept. 18 interview with Homeland Security investigators, the Venezuelan man said Gonzalez Reyes had previously visited the food truck about eight or nine times.

During those encounters, the victim said, Gonzalez Reyes would place a firearm on a table to intimidate him and demand free food while presenting himself as an ICE agent.

The affidavit does not specify when those earlier visits began or how much free food Gonzalez Reyes allegedly obtained.

Investigators arrested Gonzalez Reyes two days before that interview.

On Sept. 16, agents conducting surveillance at his residence saw Gonzalez Reyes get into the same vehicle that investigators say had been used during the July 8 encounter. He also had a firearm holstered on him, according to the complaint.

Authorities conducted a traffic stop and arrested him without incident. The firearm and vehicle were taken into police custody.

Just showing it

Investigators say Gonzalez Reyes initially denied the allegations after his arrest.

During an interview, Gonzalez Reyes denied knowing the food-truck operator or having gone to his business, according to the affidavit. He also denied brandishing a firearm.

But investigators said Gonzalez Reyes later told them that he had been “just showing it” to the victim and denied having bad intentions.

The affidavit does not explain the apparent discrepancy between the initial denial and the subsequent statement or provide additional context for what Gonzalez Reyes meant when he said he was showing the firearm.

The criminal complaint, signed Sept. 19 and entered on the federal court docket Monday, charges Gonzalez Reyes with one count of impersonating an officer of the United States. The complaint identifies the alleged offense as occurring on or about July 8 in Miami-Dade County.

If convicted, Gonzalez Reyes faces up to three years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The case is being investigated by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the branch that investigates misconduct involving ICE employees as well as people suspected of falsely representing themselves as agency personnel.