Four Massachusetts Residents Charged in Multi-State SNAP and Pandemic Benefits Fraud Case

Four Residents Charged in Alleged Benefits Fraud

Four Massachusetts residents were charged in connection with an alleged multi-state fraud scheme involving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and pandemic-era unemployment assistance. Federal prosecutors announced the charges on a Tuesday, and the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Leah Foley, provided details of the case.

The defendants are identified as 42-year-old Joel Vicioso Fernandez of Fitchburg, 32-year-old Roman Yequiz Fernandez of Leominster, 24-year-old Coralba Albarracin Siniva of Leominster, and 37-year-old Raul Fernandez Vicioso of Fitchburg. Roman Yequiz Fernandez and Coralba Albarracin Siniva are described as Venezuelan nationals living in Leominster.

Allegations of SNAP and Pandemic Unemployment Fraud

Prosecutors accuse the four Massachusetts residents of using more than 100 stolen identities to obtain over $1 million in public benefits. According to the U.S. Attorney, stolen identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico were used to secure approximately $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The defendants are also accused of submitting fraudulent documents to obtain more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington, and Nevada. Three defendants, Joel Vicioso Fernandez, Roman Yequiz Fernandez, and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, are charged with conspiracy to use, transfer, acquire, and possess SNAP benefits. The fourth defendant, Raul Fernandez Vicioso, faces charges of conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering.

Role of El Primo Restaurant in the Investigation

The investigation focused on the El Primo restaurant in Leominster, which is owned by Raul Fernandez Vicioso. Prosecutors state that the defendants used SNAP benefit cards they had fraudulently obtained to purchase expensive bulk food items for the restaurant. According to prosecutors, photographs show the defendants buying food using fraudulent benefits.

The U.S. Attorney's office said the defendants then prepared and sold meals at El Primo Restaurant and wired the resulting proceeds, among other destinations, to individuals living in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Counterfeit passports, Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, handwritten lists of identities, and SNAP-related mailings were found inside the restaurant and at Raul Fernandez Vicioso’s home, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also state that the restaurant address was used as a residential address on pandemic unemployment assistance applications, which were filed using the stolen identities of 29 victims.

Rhode Island Alert Triggers Massachusetts Review

Leah Foley said the state of Rhode Island detected possible fraud in June 2024, when it discovered that SNAP applications for 117 people were being submitted from two apartments in Rhode Island. Rhode Island authorities then contacted the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance for more information.

According to Foley, Massachusetts identified more than $115,000 in SNAP benefits that had been issued to the stolen identities. Foley also stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s inspector general was not aware of the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance making any referral report to the USDA regarding this theft.

Foley said that Rhode Island turned off the affected SNAP cards. She also announced that her office is adding a fraud coordinator in response to what she described as rampant benefit fraud in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Agency Response

The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance stated that it cooperated with federal investigators in this case. The agency said it did not independently report the fraud to the U.S. Department of Agriculture because Rhode Island had already done so. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance said that, once the cases were reported, the agency immediately closed the accounts and worked with the federal government to support the investigation.