WASHINGTON — Two Hyattsville, Maryland, men are facing federal charges for extorting money from area businesses in connection with their alleged membership in the MS-13 gang.
The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, state and local authorities announced Thursday that Jairo Jacome, 36, and Gerdandino Delgado-Escobar, 23, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion. The office said in a statement that both men are part of a Langley Park “clique” of MS-13.
A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office said that Jacome demanded “rent” from, and threatened, business owners from March 2013 through this month. In one instance, the attorney’s office said, Jacome threatened one owner with a gun and hit him, adding that if the business owner didn’t pay, Jacome would send someone to kill the owner’s family.
Delgado-Escobar is accused of taking extortion payments on Jacome’s behalf.
The statement said that one of MS-13’s sources of money in the D.C. area is extortion from legal and illegal businesses.
