BOSTON, Mass. — Four Massachusetts residents have been charged in a multi-state fraud scheme that used over 100 stolen identities to obtain more than $1 million in food stamps and pandemic-era unemployment benefits, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said stolen identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico were used to collect $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The defendants also allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to receive more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance from multiple states, including Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington, and Nevada.
“It’s no secret there is rampant fraud across this nation,” Foley said. “The charges announced today are just a snapshot of the bigger picture, not just in Massachusetts but across the country.” She added that her office is adding a fraud coordinator in response to the surge in benefit fraud.
The defendants include:
Joel Vicioso Fernandez, 42, of Fitchburg, charged with conspiracy to use, transfer, acquire, and possess SNAP benefits.
Roman Yequiz Fernandez, 32, and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, 24, Venezuelan nationals living in Leominster, also charged with SNAP conspiracy.
Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 37, of Fitchburg, charged with conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting.
Investigators said the El Primo restaurant in Leominster, owned by Raul Fernandez Vicioso, was central to the scheme. Prosecutors allege the defendants used fraudulently obtained SNAP cards to buy bulk food items, which were then prepared and sold for profit. Some proceeds were wired to individuals in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Counterfeit passports, EBT cards, handwritten lists of stolen identities, and SNAP-related mailings were recovered from the restaurant and Raul Fernandez Vicioso’s home. The restaurant address was also used on unemployment assistance applications linked to 29 victims.
The scheme came to light when Rhode Island authorities detected applications for 117 people coming from two Rhode Island apartments in June 2024. Massachusetts authorities later identified over $115,000 in SNAP benefits issued to stolen identities.
Foley noted the challenge of online applications: “Any state that allows online applications without any ability to verify that the documents being submitted are authentic is leaving itself open to abuse and to be defrauded.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance said it cooperated fully with federal investigators and acted quickly to close cases once identified.
