A Gainesville woman was arrested in Hall County Thursday on charges related to alleged immigration agent fraud, just days after she was arrested in the City of Gainesville on similar charges.
According to a press release from the Hall County Sheriff's Office, Olga Beatrice Villarreal, 51, was arrested at her home on Willow Oak Drive. She was charged with theft by extortion and conspiracy to commit a crime (theft by extortion).
The agency said Villarreal allegedly extorted money from a Gainesville wife and husband by claiming to be an immigration agent. She allegedly took cash payments from each victim and threatened them with deportation. Villarreal allegedly collected about $40,000 total from the couple, roughly $20,000 each, between January 2019 and June 2023.
Villarreal was arrested early in the week by the Gainesville Police Department for similar crimes in a separate investigation. Gainesville Police said she allegedly deceived people out of thousands of dollars by claiming to process their immigration status in an expedited manner. She would then use threatening means to further extort money. She was charged with three counts of felony theft by deception and felony criminal attempt in that original arrest.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office said the two victims in the new case came forward after seeing news of Villarreal's arrest earlier in the week.
She was being held in the Hall County Jail without bond as of Friday morning. The case remains under investigation.
Anyone with information should contact local authorities.
