Bronx Pair Indicted for Stealing Over $500K in Unemployment Insurance Benefits During Pandemic Using Stolen Identities (Bronx District Attorney, 58-2026, June 17, 2026)
Summary
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on June 17, 2026 that Moses Santiago, 30, and Diamond Bonaparte, 31, both of the Bronx, were indicted on second-degree Grand Larceny and 13 counts of Identity Theft each. According to the release, from April 2020 into April 2022 the two used the stolen identities of 13 people to apply on the New York State Department of Labor website for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, obtaining over $500,000 through NYSDOL-issued bank accounts created in the victims' names. The funds were allegedly moved into Cashapp accounts the defendants controlled and spent on consumer goods and travel. Both were arraigned on June 16, 2026 before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela A. Goldsmith. The release states that an indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of guilt.
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DARCEL D. CLARK 198 EAST 161st STREET
VISIT US: DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BRONX COUNTY BRONX, N.Y. 10451
(718) 590-2234
58-2026
For Immediate Release
June 17, 2026
BRONX PAIR INDICTED FOR STEALING OVER $500K IN UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE BENEFITS DURING PANDEMIC USING STOLEN IDENTITIES
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that two Bronx people have been
indicted for Grand Larceny and Identity Theft for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from the
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Insurance program using false identities.
District Attorney Clark said, “These defendants allegedly stole identities of innocent
people and then fraudulently obtained federal benefits meant for those out of work due to COVID-
19 pandemic crisis. They allegedly stole $500,000 from the program over two years. Now they
are held accountable for their alleged actions.”
Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, said, “These
individuals allegedly exploited Pandemic Unemployment Insurance benefits, a critical lifeline
intended to support American workers during a national crisis. Every dollar lost to fraud is a
dollar stolen from honest, hardworking Americans. The Department of Labor, Office of Inspector
General will not tolerate this theft. We remain committed to working alongside our law
enforcement partners to combat this criminal activity and hunt down every last fraudster who
thought they could game the system.”
Roberta Reardon, New York State Department of Labor Commissioner, said, “The New
York State Department of Labor is committed to fighting Unemployment Insurance fraud to
protect workers and ensure these benefits are rightfully paid to those who rely on them. I am
grateful to our partners at the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement for
their tireless efforts to pursue justice and safeguard this critical safety net.”
Pete Gizas, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Special Agent in
Charge, said, "By allegedly stealing the identities of unsuspecting victims and diverting hundreds
of thousands of dollars in pandemic unemployment benefits, these defendants are accused of
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DARCEL D. CLARK 198 EAST 161st STREET
VISIT US: DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BRONX COUNTY BRONX, N.Y. 10451
(718) 590-2234
exploiting programs meant to support honest workers and families in their time of greatest need.
HSI is firmly committed to working in coordination with our state, local, and federal law
enforcement partners to uncover and dismantle the fraud schemes that prey on our communities
and threaten the financial well-being of our neighbors."
District Attorney Clark said Moses Santiago, 30, of 301 East 149th Street, Bronx, and
Diamond Bonaparte, 31, of 547 East 178th Street, Bronx, were arraigned on June 16, 2026, by
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela A. Goldsmith on second-degree Grand Larceny and 13
counts of Identity Theft for each defendant. Santiago is due back in court on September 10, 2026,
and Bonaparte is due back on August 17, 2026.
According to the investigation by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL),
the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), and the Bronx DA’s Financial Frauds Bureau, from
April 2020 into April 2022, the defendants acting in concert fraudulently used stolen identities of
13 people to obtain unemployment insurance benefits. The defendants allegedly presented the
identities falsely on the NYSDOL website as legitimate applicants for benefits, and obtained over
$500,000, through NYSDOL-issued bank accounts created in the names of the identity theft
victims.
The defendants transferred the bank funds into Cashapp accounts they controlled and
purchased consumer goods and travel. With the assistance of investigators and auditors at
NYSDOL and USDOL Office of the Inspector General, the 13 identity theft victims were located
and interviewed.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Jeremy
Pfetsch of the Financial Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Eugene Bykov, Supervisor of
the Financial Frauds Bureau, Pia Freedman, Supervisor of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Michelle
Milanes, Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Herman Wun, Chief of the Financial
Frauds Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Denise Kodjo, Deputy Chief of the
Investigations Division and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, Chief of the Investigations Division.
District Attorney Clark thanked Trial Preparation Assistants Diane Morgan and Cindy Sinani,
Intelligence Analyst Aryeh Halevy, Principal Accountant Investigator James Antonino, and
NYPD Detective Daniel Angen of the Bronx DA Squad for and for their assistance with this
investigation.
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DARCEL D. CLARK 198 EAST 161st STREET
VISIT US: DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BRONX COUNTY BRONX, N.Y. 10451
(718) 590-2234
District Attorney Clark thanked the New York State Department of Labor, in particular,
Investigative Officers Kerry Sukhnandan and William Dutton, of the NYSDOL Office of Special
Investigations, as well as Special Agents Raymond Ramirez and Leslie Briccetti of the United
States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, and the Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI) New York Homeland Security Task Force Financial Division for their
invaluable assistance with this investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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