Portland, OR – An Oregon man pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer to have his wife and her daughter deported.

Antonio Burgos of Portland had met his wife in El Salvador and was in the process of divorcing her.

Burgos offered to pay an ICE agent $4,000 for his wife’s deportation as well as his wife’s minor child from a previous relationship.

He pleaded guilty Nov. 20 to one count of bribery of a public official, according to District of Oregon U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On May 24, Burgos followed an ICE agent from the ICE office in Portland until he stopped about 10 miles later in a parking lot in Vancouver, Washington, according to authorities.

Burgos then offered the ICE agent money to deport his wife. The ICE agent declined the offer and the reported the bribe to his supervisors.

A week later, the agent made a recorded call to Burgos in coordination with an ICE investigation team.

Burgos offered to pay the ICE agent $3,000 to remove his wife from the U.S. The ICE agent made another call on June 5 and Burgos again offered to pay money to have his wife deported. An in-person meeting was set up for the next day.

At that meeting, Burgos offered to pay $4,000 for his wife’s removal as well as his wife’s daughter.

Burgos was arrested June 29. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, according to authorities. He will be sentenced May 6, 2019. Burgos is currently in federal prison, according to The News Tribune.

“Attempting to bribe a federal law enforcement officer is a serious crime and will be met with equally-serious consequences,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, in a press release. “I commend the ICE officer involved in this case for responding to Burgos’ criminal proposition with the utmost level of professionalism and resolve.”