A Massachusetts restaurant operator was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for a scheme that used more than 100 stolen identities to collect food assistance and pandemic unemployment benefits worth more than $1.1 million.
\n\nRaul Fernandez Vicioso, 38, of Fitchburg, used fraudulently obtained Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buy food for El Primo Restaurant in Leominster, according to a Justice Department press release. Proceeds from the scheme were later sent to people in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and other locations.
\n\nU.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman imposed the sentence in Worcester and ordered Fernandez Vicioso to serve three years of supervised release after prison. She also ordered $1.1 million in restitution and a separate $1.1 million forfeiture judgment.
\n\nFernandez Vicioso pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering.
\n\nThe scheme involved $440,000 in SNAP benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits from several states, prosecutors said.
\n\nInvestigators found that stolen personal information had been purchased and used to apply for food assistance under the names of more than 100 people.
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/
