McALLEN, Texas – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was arrested and charged with accepting a bribe and for exceeding his authorized access to gain information from a government computer, the U.S. attorney for this region announced Thursday morning.
Julio Trujillo, 30, of Mission was charged with accepting $3,600 for agreeing to extend one person’s visa and helping another person obtain a visa, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a news release.
Trujillo was taken into custody by federal officials Thursday morning and is scheduled to make an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate Friday morning, the release said.
Trujillo is alleged to have exceeded his authority and looked up information about one person on protected government computers, which is illegal, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
If convicted of the bribery charge, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison, the release said. The exceeding access to a government computer carries a possible penalty of five years, if convicted. Both charges also carry the possibility of a fine up to $250,000, the release said.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, and CBP – Internal Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberto Lopez Jr. and David Lindenmuth are prosecuting the case.
