Cleotilde Puac-Gomez Sentenced

Cleotilde Puac-Gomez, a 46-year-old citizen of Guatemala and illegal alien, has been sentenced to two months in federal prison for theft of U.S. government funds. Puac-Gomez, who resides in Clarion, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of U.S. government funds on February 6, 2019.

Puac-Gomez admitted to failing to report her husband’s income when applying for and receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid benefits between June 2012 and November 2017. Her husband, Melvin Rodriguez-Barrios, 44, also an illegal alien, was working under an alias and used someone else’s social security number to obtain work during this time period.

By failing to accurately report the family’s income, Puac-Gomez received $19,908.30 in overpayment of food stamps and other welfare benefits in funds belonging to the United States and distributed by the State of Iowa. Rodriguez-Barrios was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on March 27, 2019, following a bench trial finding him guilty of three counts of unlawful use of an identification document and four counts of misuse of a social security number.

Puac-Gomez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. In addition to her two-month prison term, she was ordered to make $19,908.30 in restitution to the State of Iowa and serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Investigation Division – Economic Fraud Control Bureau.

Puac-Gomez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison. The case file number is 18-CR-3044, and court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter @USAO_NDIA for updates on similar cases.

The sentencing of Cleotilde Puac-Gomez serves as a reminder of the consequences of theft of government funds and the importance of accurately reporting income when applying for welfare benefits. The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement agencies to preventing and prosecuting fraud and financial crimes.