ORLANDO, Fla. – A man who trained Brazilian immigrants to become chaplains during seminars in Central Florida has been arrested for allegedly selling them gold badges, shirts and other merchandise emblazoned with the seal of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, News 6 has learned.
Chaplain trainees were taught the items, which included official-looking ID cards containing logos for DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, would “give them a level of immunity from immigration enforcement” and “keep them safe from deportation,” according to a special agent with DHS’s Office of Inspector General.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Mario Cesar Dos Santos Jr. for knowingly using counterfeit seals of DHS, FEMA and the FBI in violation of federal law.
Dos Santos is the chief executive of the Chaplain Emergency Management Agency, or CEMA, according to the organization’s website.
Although CEMA claims it “is an agency of the United States of America,” authorities said the Massachusetts-based organization is not affiliated with the federal government.
CEMA’s logo appears to feature the DHS seal depicting an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch in its talons. The image has been modified slightly to read “U.S. Department of Homeland Chaplain.”
Federal authorities launched an investigation into CEMA in August after receiving emails indicating Dos Santos was falsely representing the organization as a DHS affiliate while hosting “Chaplaincy Training Courses” in Orlando, Clermont and other locations.
CEMA’s chaplain courses, which were free to attend but cost $400 to $450 for the chaplaincy certification, are predominantly aimed at “Brazilian immigrants and foreign nationals,” according to investigators.
A trainee who attended a course in Clermont later received an ID card that contained official and modified seals for DHS, FEMA and the FBI, authorities alleged.
Investigators claim Dos Santos also sold CEMA merchandise at the seminars, including badges, polo shirts, bumper stickers and jackets bearing DHS or FEMA seals.
Dos Santos reportedly told attendees the ID cards and badges authorized them to support law enforcement during emergency situations.
“He also told them that this would give them a level of immunity from immigration enforcement and would keep them safe from deportation,” a federal investigator wrote in an affidavit.
During an undercover operation at an Orlando training seminar in September, a CEMA volunteer discussed the merchandise.
“(She) stated her CEMA badge helped her get through an airport’s security with no issues and that, because she displayed her CEMA badge, she did not have to pay for her extra luggage,” an investigator wrote. “The unidentified CEMA volunteer also told (the witness) that having her CEMA shirt inside her suitcase made a difference when airport security scanned her luggage with an X-ray.”
During the seminar attended by undercover investigators, Dos Santos allegedly introduced himself as a Harvard graduate with a medical degree. Federal authorities later determined both claims were false.
Dos Santos also claimed to work at FEMA once a week and that the federal government had given him permission to carry an AR-15 rifle in his vehicle, court records show.
Dos Santos and his organization are not affiliated with FEMA or DHS, according to federal authorities.
U.S. Marshals arrested Dos Santos earlier this month and he is currently in federal detention.
Dos Santos, who entered the U.S. in 2016 from an unidentified country, has overstayed his visa and is eligible for removal, court records show.
“Many of the documents provided to (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) in support of Dos Santos’s immigration application appeared to be altered or contained false information,” federal investigators wrote.
Those documents included a 1999 Bachelor of Theology diploma from the “University of Berkley” in Michigan which federal investigators said did not exist and had been previously investigated for producing fraudulent diplomas.
Social media posts on CEMA’s Facebook and Instagram pages show photographs of chaplain trainees attending events with law enforcement agencies, including the Fort Myers Police Department.
A spokesperson for the Fort Myers Police Department said the agency does not have a relationship with CEMA and was unaware of its alleged legal issues.
Members of CEMA have, at times, invited representatives of the Fort Myers Police Department to attend events held at local churches, where they presented department personnel with unofficial certificates of appreciation in recognition of their service to the community,” the spokesperson said. “It is not uncommon for the department to be invited to community events throughout the City of Fort Myers, and our participation in those events does not constitute a partnership, endorsement, or affiliation with the hosting organization.
Although CEMA’s website features a photograph of an Orlando Police Department chaplain vehicle, an OPD spokesperson said the agency did not provide the image to the organization and noted the photo was publicly available online.