Four people living in Massachusetts have been charged with allegedly participating in a scheme that involved using stolen identities to fraudulently obtain money through federal programs, including the food stamp program.
Roman Vequiz Fernandez, 32, and three others allegedly bought and used stolen information for more than 100 people to create 24 fictitious households for applications to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the food stamp program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and states, according to charging documents.
The fictitious households were listed as living in apartments in Providence, Rhode Island.
Fernandez and 42-year-old Joel Vicioso Fernandez also used their own information in the scheme, along with counterfeit passports, authorities said. Metadata from images of the passports indicated they were taken inside or near a restaurant allegedly operated by a third person, 37-year-old Raul Fernandez Vicioso….