Twenty five individuals were charged as a result of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) probe targeting offenders of document and benefit fraud.
Peter C. Fitzhugh, HSI Boston special agent in charge, joined U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew E. Lelling in the announcement on Thursday.
ICE places a high priority on investigating document and benefit fraud.
These types of fraud pose a severe threat to national security and public safety because they create a vulnerability that may enable terrorists, other criminals and illegal aliens to gain entry to and remain in the United States.
Document and benefit fraud are elements of many immigration-related crimes, such as human smuggling and human trafficking, critical infrastructure protection, worksite enforcement, visa compliance enforcement and national security investigations.
- Document fraud, also known as identity fraud, is the manufacturing, counterfeiting, alteration, sale, and/or use of identity documents and other fraudulent documents to circumvent immigration laws or for other criminal activity.
- Identity fraud in some cases also involves identity theft, a crime in which an imposter takes on the identity of a real person (living or deceased).
- Benefit fraud is the willful misrepresentation of a material fact on a petition or application to gain an immigration benefit.
- Benefit fraud can be an extremely lucrative form of white-collar crime, often involving sophisticated schemes and multiple co-conspirators.
- These schemes can take years to investigate and prosecute.
Many of the defendants in this enforcement action have prior criminal histories, including a convicted murderer who escaped from prison in Puerto Rico in 1994 while serving a 40-year sentence.
21 of the alleged defendants are unlawfully present in the United States.
The arrests and charges announced were the result of “Operation Double Trouble,” a long term, coordinated investigation by HSI’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) comprised of local, state and federal agencies joining together to detect, deter and disrupt organizations and individuals involved in a wide range of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.
The Boston DBFTF includes representatives from the Offices of Inspectors General from the U.S. Department of Health, U.S. Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service along with the Massachusetts State Police and the Office of the Massachusetts State Auditor.
In total, those arrested and charged are alleged to have defrauded the American taxpayer of more than a quarter of a million dollars, including $200,000 in health care.
The DBFTF is currently investigating suspected aliens, predominately from the Dominican Republic, who are believed to have obtained stolen identities of United States citizens living in Puerto Rico and who have used those identities to obtain documents and public benefits that they would not otherwise be eligible to receive, such as Registry of Motor Vehicles identity documents, Social Security numbers, Medicaid, unemployment and public housing subsidies.
Among other things, a comparison of public benefits records revealed the identities of numerous individuals who received public benefits in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts on or about the same date.
“I want to thank all of the members of the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force who worked on this investigation”, said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Across this city and across America, teachers, truck drivers, and construction workers are going to work and paying taxes that are being stolen from the public treasury by fraudsters and criminals.”
“We are going to continue to pursue cases of identity theft against the American people here in Massachusetts and wherever they take place.”
“This case is another excellent example of the solid teamwork among local, state, and federal partners that has distinguished HSI Boston’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force,” said Fitzhugh.
“It’s due to their dedicated work that we are bringing justice to those who conspire to exploit our immigration laws for financial gain and pose a security threat to our nation.”
Twenty-five individuals have been charged with various federal crimes; all but four of the defendants are unlawfully present in the United States.
Many defendants have criminal histories including a conviction for murder and drug charges including:
- Jose Lopez Rosado, 53, formerly residing in Worcester County, MA , charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- According to court documents, the defendant escaped from prison in Puerto Rico in 1994 while serving a 40-year sentence for second degree murder.
- He is currently in state custody on unrelated charges.
- His true identity was not known until now.
- Domingo Garcia Suero, 54, a Dominican national formerly residing in Haverhill, MA was indicted in May and arrested today on the following charges:
- Five counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
- One count of being a felon in possession of a firearm
- Two counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and
- One count of aggravated identity theft
- Garcia Suero is already in federal custody.
- Alejandra Eulalia Baez Arias, 40, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Saddan Rafael Bautista Diaz, 27, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Kelvin Bautista Valdez, 31, Dominican national residing in Lynn, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Robert Crisologo Bobadilla Baez, 43, a Dominican national formerly residing in Mattapan, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Bobadilla Baez is already in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- Fernando Cedeno Carpio, 34, a Dominican national residing in Houston, Texas, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Fausto Feliz Feliz, 39, a Dominican national residing in Malden, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Luis Alberto Fernandez Fernandez, 27, a Dominican national residing in Salem with legal permanent resident status, was charged with one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Santo Jesus Gonzalez Villar, 48, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Ramon Lara Martinez, 45, a Dominican national residing in Hyde Park, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Viterbo Enrique Minaya Melo, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Minaya Melo is currently in state custody.
- Ulises Francisco Mota Carmona, 35, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Yhoan Alexis Nivar Rodriguez, 29, a Dominican national residing in Mattapan with legal permanent resident status, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- James Alfred Pena Guerrero, 30, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Ramona Maribel Perez Peguero, 38, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was charged with one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Fiumen Alexis Pimentel, 47, a Dominican national residing in Hyde Park, was charged with identity fraud.
- Jose Mercedes Polanco Guerrero, 47, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Joaquin Ruiz Mota, 47, a Dominican national residing in Dorchester, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of misuse of a Social Security number.
- Carmen Sanchez Garcia De Martinez, 64, a Dominican and/or Venezuelan national residing in Springfield, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Wanyer Manuel Soto Pimentel, 27, a Dominican national residing in Roslindale, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- Edward Elias Villar Ortiz, 42, a Dominican national residing in Brockton, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- John Doe, an individual residing in Roxbury whose true identity remains unknown, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft; one count of false representation of a Social Security number; and one count of theft of government funds.
- John Doe, an individual residing in Lynn whose true identity remains unknown, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
- John Doe, an individual residing in Revere whose true identity remains unknown, was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making a false statement in an application and use of a U.S. passport.
Charges filed include a wide range of crimes from aggravated identity theft to theft of public funds and others.
In addition to Attorney General Sessions, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations at the announcement in Boston, were joined by the following agency representatives:
- Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General
- Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division
- Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office
- Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations
- William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office
- Delany De Leon-Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service
- Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, and
- Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump
