Menifee man sentenced to 60 years for extortion, grand theft

A Menifee man who pleaded guilty to 143 counts of extortion and related crimes last November was sentenced Monday to 60 years -- 20 years in county jail and 40 years of mandatory supervision.

Rodolfo DeHoyos, 57, was taken into custody on Monday to begin his time and was ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution to the 58 victims in the case, according to a news release from the Riverside County District Attorney's office. The crimes took place between December 2013 and December 2015.

According to the news release, DeHoyos ran a scam that took advantage of business owners across the state. Investigators determined he likely attempted to pull this scam on more than 1,000 California businesses. DeHoyos or someone working for him would enter a business, look around and accuse the business owner of violating the American Disabilities Act/Unruh Act, which protects the rights of people with disabilities.

DeHoyos would deliver a letter from his "business" (ADA Advocates and Consulting) stating that if they didn't come into compliance, they may be held civilly liable. He would offer to accept a settlement to avoid an expensive court case. Many businesses owners paid various amounts of money to avoid the threatened lawsuit.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy DA Heather Ferris of the DA Office's Consumer Protection Team. The counts against DeHoyos included extortion by letter, extortion, attempted extortion and grand theft.