Ex-NYPD sergeant from Ozone Park admits posing as ICE official to threaten a woman
Atickul Islam pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court and resigned from the NYPD. Prosecutors said he used fake ICE texts to threaten a Queens woman and her relatives with deportation.
A former NYPD sergeant pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 30, to a federal charge of impersonating a U.S. officer. He admitted posing as an ICE official to threaten a Queens woman and her relatives with deportation, prosecutors said.
Atickul Islam, 29, of Ozone Park, entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court before U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry. Prosecutors said he went after the woman, an immigrant, because she had rejected his romantic advances in 2025. He could get up to three years in federal prison and is due back in court for sentencing on March 24.
Texts threatened deportation, court papers say
Court filings and the plea hearing describe a series of texts Islam sent the woman from March 22 to March 29, 2025. Prosecutors said one message on March 29 read: “ICE will come get you and your family and you will live poor.”
About four hours later, a second text arrived from a number the woman did not know. Prosecutors said Islam wrote that message while presenting himself as the head of ICE’s field office in New York. The text called itself an “official notice” and said she had been reported to the agency. It warned that she and her family would face more legal and enforcement steps if they did not go to an ICE office.
Plea deal bars him from police work
The plea required Islam to leave the NYPD, and he resigned on Sept. 25. He can never apply for a job with the NYPD or any other law enforcement agency.
Joseph Nocella, the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District, said Islam used the threat of deportation to settle a personal score. “We expect law enforcement officers of every rank to act with honesty and integrity,” he said. James Barnacle, who heads the FBI’s New York Field Office, said posing as a federal officer is a serious crime that wears away public trust.
Quick answers
What did the former NYPD sergeant plead guilty to?
He admitted to a federal charge of impersonating a U.S. officer after sending text messages in which he posed as an ICE official.
What sentence does he face?
He could get up to three years in federal prison. He is due to be sentenced on March 24.
Is he still with the NYPD?
No. The plea required him to resign, which he did on Sept. 25, and he can never work for any law enforcement agency.
