Ricardo Santiago, a 59-year-old Hartford resident and the man at the center of a recent Amber Alert, is scheduled to be sentenced this week for a long-running fraud scheme in which he stole over $370,000 in government benefits.
The Amber Alert was issued on Saturday afternoon after Santiago was last seen with an 11-year-old girl. The alert was canceled less than an hour later after authorities located both Santiago and the child in Hartford. Police confirmed that the girl was found safe and unharmed, and Santiago was taken into custody.
Federal officials revealed that Santiago had an active arrest warrant related to a wide-ranging benefit fraud operation involving Social Security, unemployment, and food assistance programs. He is set to be sentenced on Wednesday in federal court.
Santiago pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of wire fraud. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he fraudulently collected over $316,000 in Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) payments, more than $36,000 in unemployment benefits, and over $18,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Between 2002 and 2024, Santiago earned more than $580,000 by working under false identities and using fraudulent Social Security numbers. Despite his income, he consistently claimed to government agencies that he was unable to work due to disability and had no earnings.
Authorities say Santiago continued to renew his benefits by submitting false information, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he applied for unemployment benefits using a stolen Social Security number. He received payments from April 2020 to February 2021 while actively employed.
His arrest on May 7, 2024, came after investigators uncovered the extent of the fraud. Santiago was released on a $25,000 bond but failed to appear at his scheduled sentencing on May 22, prompting the issuance of a federal arrest warrant.
He has since agreed to pay restitution totaling $371,686. Santiago faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
