Manuel Enrique Arias Aguasvivas, False Identity Crimes, Massachusetts 2021

A Dominican national previously residing in Methuen has been sentenced for his role in a false identity crime scheme. Manuel Enrique Arias Aguasvivas, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to two years in prison and one year of supervised release.

Arias Aguasvivas will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. On February 17, 2021, Arias Aguasvivas pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.

The crime occurred on July 2, 2015, when Arias Aguasvivas submitted an application to renew his Massachusetts driver’s license in the Lawrence office of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. In doing so, he used the Social Security number and other identifying information of a U.S. citizen.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.

Manuel Enrique Arias Aguasvivas, a Dominican national, was sentenced for aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. He will serve two years in prison and one year of supervised release, followed by deportation proceedings.

The investigation and prosecution of this case involved a collaborative effort between multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

Manuel Enrique Arias Aguasvivas will be serving two years in prison for his role in the false identity crime scheme. He will also be subject to deportation proceedings.

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