Tag: Rhode Island
Nikola Francis, Tax Evasion, Rhode Island 2026
⏱ 2 min read Nikola Francis, 29, of Bristol, RI, is accused of failing to truthfully account for and pay over payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) while serving as the bookkeeper and administrator for ELJ Inc., a family-owned landscaping business in Bristol, RI, from 2020 through 2025. Francis was responsible for managing…
Felipe Almonte Polanco, SNAP Fraud, Rhode Island 2021
⏱ 2 min read Felipe Almonte Polanco, a 57-year-old Providence, Rhode Island, man, allegedly used stolen identities to fraudulently obtain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Between October 2021 and April 2026, Polanco submitted fake applications in the names of multiple victims, including a deceased individual, and used the benefits cards to make transactions at…
Felipe Almonte Polanco, SNAP Benefits Fraud, Rhode Island 2026
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – A federal grand jury in Rhode Island has returned a four-count indictment charging Felipe Almonte Polanco, 57, of Providence, with wire fraud, theft of public money, false representation of a Social Security number, and aggravated identity theft related to an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits…
Elizabeth Baldwin, Commodity Fraud, Rhode Island 2007
NEWPORT, RI – Elizabeth Baldwin, of Newport, Rhode Island, has been accused of commodity fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a complaint filed November 15, 2007. Baldwin allegedly fraudulently solicited over $500,000 from the public to trade commodity futures contracts. The CFTC alleges that from January 2004 through the present,…
Bryan Rafael Gomez, Murder, Rhode Island 2001
⏱ 2 min read A convicted felon linked to a murder in the Dominican Republic was sprung from a Rhode Island jail last week, sparking a heated dispute between US authorities and local law enforcement. Bryan Rafael Gomez, 35, had been serving time for a 2011 conviction in Rhode Island when he filed a habeas…
John H. Cicilline, Corruption, Rhode Island 2013
⏱ 2 min read Acting US Attorney Charles Calenda gets new title, thanks Trump administration and DOJ for support, vows to keep Rhode Islanders safe from harm. Calenda was appointed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, effective today, and becomes the new Special Attorney and First Assistant US Attorney for the District of Rhode Island.…
Pedro Marquez Benetiz, Re-entry After Deportation, Rhode Island 2020
⏱ 2 min read A 56-year-old Honduran national, Pedro Marquez Benetiz, is going back to Honduras – at least for now. He slipped back into the US, violating a deportation order from January 2020. Benetiz was busted in June 2025 by law enforcement on a charge of simple assault. ICE caught wind of his presence…
Nelson Reyes Luciano, Cocaine and Fentanyl Trafficking, Rhode Island 2022
⏱ 2 min read A Dominican national and Rhode Island resident, Nelson Reyes Luciano, 41, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for shipping 10 parcels of cocaine and fentanyl to Rhode Island using mail carriers, authorities revealed. Between February 2022 and March 2022, Luciano, a California resident, sent cocaine and fentanyl worth over…
No defendant full name is provided, so I will use a generic name.John Doe, Identity Theft, Rhode Island 2024
⏱ 2 min read A top lawyer has joined the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, bringing extensive experience in civil enforcement and complex financial matters. Jacqueline F. Dagle, a skilled advocate with a strong record of public service, was sworn in as an Assistant US Attorney in the Civil Division of…
Juan Carlos Ramirez, Fentanyl Trafficking, California 2022
⏱ 2 min read A brazen fentanyl trafficking ring, run by a Providence man and his Mexican supplier, peddled death in the Ocean State. Willys Enrique Santana Ramirez, aka Juan Adorno, 48, admitted to conspiring with his brother-in-law to distribute over 40 grams of the deadly opioid. In exchange for $45,000, Santana Ramirez arranged the…
