Rockland man accused of selling bogus green cards

Christopher J. Eberhart | Rockland/Westchester Journal News

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A Rockland County man is accused of pretending to be a federal agent and selling bogus green cards to undocumented immigrants.

Marko Nikac, a 48-year-old Congers man, sold U.S. Resident Alien Cards to three undocumented immigrants in Mount Kisco for $9,000, authorities said.

They were promised the green cards within three months but never received them, according to authorities. The victims demanded their money back, and Nikac responded by threatening to deport them, authorities said. Eventually Nikac returned $2,000 of their money.

One of the victims told a friend, a retired police officer, who passed the information along to Westchester County police.

County police investigated the matter for two months and ultimately arrested Nikac on Thursday.

He was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal impersonation, and third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, all felonies, and second-degree scheme to defraud, a misdemeanor.

Acting Westchester County Police Commissioner Martin McGlynn said in a statement that the investigation and arrest should show undocumented immigrants that they can report crimes to police without fear of immigration enforcement against them.

"It serves the entire Westchester County community well when criminals are apprehended, regardless of the immigration status of their victims," McGlynn said.

County police detectives have asked community groups to let them know if they become aware of any other victims of this or similar schemes.

Anyone who is a victim or who knows of such victims is asked to contact Westchester County police at 914-864-7819 or dps-rtc@westchestergov.com.

Twitter: @ChrisEberhart2