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Central Mass. restaurant owner guilty of S.N.A.P. fraud

  • Posted by The Burbs (Sponsor: North End Motor Sales) Mar 28 - Filed in News - #Leominster  #Fitchburg  #crime  #Fraud  #U.S. Attorney  #El Primo Restaurant  - 6,318 views

    A Fitchburg man pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester to his role in a fraud conspiracy that authorities say used more than 100 stolen identities to steal about $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from multiple states.

    Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 37, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit S.N.A.P. fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for July 9th.

    Prosecutors said Fernandez Vicioso and his alleged co-conspirators used stolen personal information from real people in multiple states to create 24 fraudulent S.N.A.P. “households.” All of the applications were listed as living in 2 single-family apartments in Providence, Rhode Island. Authorities said identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico were used to fraudulently obtain S.N.A.P. benefits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

    According to charging documents, the scheme also involved fraudulent P.U.A. applications submitted between April 2020 and December 2021 in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington and Nevada. Prosecutors said at least 29 different identities were used in P.U.A. applications across 6 states, with all listing El Primo Restaurant in Leominster as the residential address.

    Authorities alleged the conspirators used fraudulent S.N.A.P. cards to buy large quantities of bulk food, including chicken, beef and pork, to stock El Primo Restaurant at no cost. They then sold menu items for profit and later wired proceeds to people living in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere, prosecutors said.

    Investigators said searches of Fernandez Vicioso’s home and El Primo Restaurant turned up fraudulently obtained Massachusetts and Rhode Island E.B.T. cards, fraudulent documents tied to a Providence address, printed ledgers, handwritten lists of more than 100 identities and S.N.A.P.-related mailings. Three alleged co-conspirators were previously charged by criminal complaint, according to the release.

    Federal officials noted that a guilty plea is not a sentence, and Fernandez Vicioso will be sentenced by the court at a later date.

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