LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office revealed that a woman who allegedly ran a fraudulent immigration services business was charged on May 22 with 21 additional felony counts after investigators discovered new victims.

Dalila Moreno, 63, was already facing 17 felony counts involving 13 alleged victims in case BA462322 filed on October 30, 2017. An additional 19 victims have since been identified with the help of the Consumer Protection Division’s telephone hotline, said Deputy District Attorney Ryann Gerber Jorban, who is prosecuting the case.

All 38 total charges listed in the amended criminal complaint include 27 counts of grand theft of personal property, along with attempted grand theft of personal property, forgery, counterfeit seal and extortion. The charges include allegations of taking property valued at more than $100,000 and hiding some of the offenses through fraud and misrepresentation.

Moreno pleaded not guilty to the original charges on January 12 and bail was set at $550,000. She is expected to be arraigned on the new charges on June 19 in Department 50 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The suspect ran the immigration business from her East Los Angeles home, falsely promising to expedite the processing of visas, resident alien cards and citizenship petitions for her clients and their families. The defendant allegedly told victims she worked for the government with special government connections.

She is accused of pretending to provide services by creating false visas and passport stamps, and collecting $270,000 from the victims without providing the promised services. The crimes transpired between September 1, 2010, and May 2, 2015, according to the complaint. Moreno faces up to 28 years in state prison if convicted as charged.

The case is still under investigation by the District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division and Bureau of Investigation. Anyone who may have been a victim of Moreno is asked to call the Consumer Protection Division’s hotline at (213) 257-2465.