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Defendant Uses American Citizen’s Identity to Obtain $100,000 in Social Security Benefits
Bartolo Ramirez, 48, a Dominican man living in Springfield, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with using an American citizen’s identity to obtain over $100,000 in Social Security benefits.
According to the criminal complaint, Ramirez was born in the Dominican Republic and entered the United States as a stowaway in 1990. He was apprehended by authorities and allowed to leave the country voluntarily in 1993. In 2007, Ramirez returned to the United States and settled in Springfield, where he obtained a Social Security card and state ID card using the name and Social Security number of an American citizen.
In 2008, Ramirez applied for Social Security disability benefits under the American citizen’s identity and collected more than $100,000 in benefits. Ramirez also used the American citizen’s name when he was arrested in Massachusetts in 2012 in an unrelated case.
The charge of misrepresenting a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The charge of theft of public money provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and other federal and state officials made the announcement of Ramirez’s arrest and charges. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Landry of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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