BOSTON — A federal grand jury indicted a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lowell, Mass., on six counts for allegedly using a stolen American citizen’s identity to collect approximately $30,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits and approximately $14,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Arvaro Montero Diaz, 40, faces two counts of wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of theft of government money, and one count of SNAP fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced. Montero Diaz has been unlawfully residing in the United States since approximately 2007, according to the indictment. He was arrested on a criminal complaint on March 9 and released on pretrial conditions following a detention hearing three days later.
The indictment alleges Montero Diaz used the identity of a U.S. citizen to apply for and receive the unemployment funds made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and separately used the same stolen identity to obtain the SNAP benefits. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
The wire fraud and SNAP fraud charges each carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The theft of government money charge provides for up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The two aggravated identity theft counts carry a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the indictment alongside Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Potapchuk of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The indictment follows a broader federal crackdown on benefit fraud in Massachusetts. On March 26, U.S. Attorney Foley announced the creation of the Benefit & Voter Fraud Team, a district-wide initiative led by two senior federal prosecutors to investigate and prosecute misuse of taxpayer-funded benefits across the state. On April 7, the Department of Justice stood up the National Fraud Enforcement Division, which supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.
Montero Diaz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. His next federal court appearance in Boston has not yet been scheduled.