Florida man Hector Garcia, 52, of Ocala, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiring to use stolen identities to fraudulently obtain disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and to launder the funds.
Garcia’s scheme involved conspiring with Ramon Cruz, Darwyn Joseph, Edwin Acevedo, and others to use stolen identity information of United States citizens to apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Garcia used stolen identity information of a United States citizen to open a fraudulent bank account, which was then linked to other fraudulent bank accounts set up to receive the SBA funds.
Garcia and his co-conspirators used debit cards associated with those accounts to launder the funds by purchasing iPhones for re-sale. Garcia and other co-conspirators wired a portion of the funds to the Dominican Republic. Over $452,000 in SBA funds were fraudulently obtained in connection with the scheme.
Approximately $250,000 of this money was used to purchase iPhones in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Cruz and Joseph pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to two years and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Acevedo pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for July 24, 2024. The charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, as well as restitution.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was also provided by Homeland Security Investigations in Orlando, Fla.; Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General; Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General; Department of State; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; New Hampshire State Police; and the Acton, Nashua (N.H.), Manchester (N.H.) and Ocala (Fla.) Police Departments.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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