A Menifee man who scammed tens of thousands of dollars out of businesses in Riverside County by threatening them with lawsuits over Americans with Disabilities Act violations has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for committing 143 felonies.

Rodolfo de Hoyos, 57, was sentenced Monday, Aug. 14. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 29. Charges included grand theft, extortion and sending a threatening letter with the intent to extort.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that de Hoyos also faces 40 years’ mandatory supervision by county probation. De Hoyos could serve as little as 10 years with good-conduct credits, said his attorney, Riverside-based Skip Feild.

De Hoyos was sentenced to county jail, instead of state prison, because the offenses are considered non-violent, non-serious and non-sexual under realignment, Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to reduce prison crowding.

De Hoyos was also ordered to pay $58,000 restitution to the 58 people he victimized from December 2013 to December 2015, according to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office.

De Hoyos was accused of demanding settlements in lieu of lawsuits from businesses that did not have proper signage, access, parking spaces or other violations.

Before the sentencing, some business owners described to Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly how they were victimized. Those who spoke were Keith Green, of Old Town Tire in Temecula; Peter Hamilton, of Murrieta Valley Funeral; Karen Hendrickson, of Cowgirl Cafe in Norco; and Dale Beaver, of First Choice Property Management in Riverside, according to court records. Others submitted statements.

Beaver told Kelly that de Hoyos had rejected Beaver’s offer to make a donation to a charity that helps handicapped people instead of paying the $9,500 that de Hoyos had demanded.

In an interview Tuesday, Beaver said De Hoyos was arrogant.

“He got what was coming to him,” Beaver said.

Green said in an interview that de Hoyos took him to court when Green refused to make changes to the parking lot and bathroom. De Hoyos lost, Green said, when the judge noted that de Hoyos was able to park and walk into the bathroom without any difficulty.

Green worried that de Hoyos would get only a handful of years in custody because the crime was non-violent. Green praised Riverside police Detective Brian Money and the DA’s office for finding so many victims.

“I thought the judge did everything he could,” Green said. “It will act as a great deterrent. They’re doing this as a business. They are shakedown scam artists. It has nothing to do with making a business more accessible to a wheelchair.”

De Hoyos also addressed the court, telling the judge that he did not intend to commit crimes, Feild said.

“When he went out to do this, he felt like he was making a difference in the community because every business he went to was violating the ADA,” Feild said.

But de Hoyos, when he got pushback from business owners who he thought were reluctant to fix the problems, was “too aggressive” in his negotiations, Feild said. “He took it too personal. He should have just filed lawsuits.”

De Hoyos is 20 percent disabled because of a degenerative back injury, Feild said, but is able to move around, thanks to medication.

Prosecutors played a video at the sentencing showing De Hoyos playing basketball in jail. The tape also showed de Hoyos falling, Feild said.