U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Hampton Man Indicted on Additional Fraud Schemes (USAO D-NH 12/28/2023) (2024-01-04)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire, dated Thursday, December 28, 2023, announcing a superseding indictment against Anthony M. Silva, 39, of Hampton, on 10 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of mail fraud and 8 counts of aggravated identity theft. Silva was previously indicted on March 21, 2022, and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Concord on January 8, 2024. According to the charging documents, Silva used stolen identities to obtain unemployment insurance benefits from Vermont and Massachusetts, American Express credit cards and CARES Act funds. The release states that Silva obtained more than $400,000 from Vermont, over $150,000 from Massachusetts and $600,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Hampton Man Indicted on Additional Fraud Schemes (USAO D-NH 12/28/2023) (2024-01-04).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-hampton-man-indicted-on-additional-fraud-s-83d3d4c5c8/, SHA-256 17aeaa5a7770f8880af159a90efca86dfcf8eff942936062190762179ca58b34.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Hampton Man Indicted on
Additional Fraud Schemes
Thursday, December 28, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Hampshire

CONCORD – A grand jury returned a superseding indictment against a Hampton man in
connection with four fraud schemes, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Anthony M. Silva, 39, was indicted on a total of 10 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of mail
fraud, and 8 counts of aggravated identity theft. Silva is scheduled to appear in federal
court in Concord on January 8, 2024. Previously, on March 21, 2022, Silva was indicted
on 3 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of misuse of a Social Security number, and 3 counts
of aggravated identity theft.

According to the charging documents and statements made in court, Silva orchestrated
four separate fraud schemes using stolen identities. Specifically, Silva used stolen
names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and other identifiers to fraudulently
obtain (1) unemployment insurance benefits from Vermont, (2) unemployment
insurance benefits from Massachusetts, (3) American Express credit cards, and (4) CARES
Act funds. The fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and CARES Act funds
were deposited either by check or direct deposit into dozens of accounts Silva
controlled at multiple banks. Many of these accounts were in the names of individual
victims or fictional organizations, with Silva listed as the trustee. Silva obtained more
than $400,000 from Vermont, over $150,000 from Massachusetts, and $600,000 from the
U.S. Small Business Administration. Silva was also able to use the credit cards to make a
variety of purchases from retailers such as Victoria’s Secret. Silva also tried
unsuccessfully to obtain additional CARES Act funding.

The charge of wire fraud and mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in
prison and a fine of either $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is
higher. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of 2
years to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed
by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes
which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of
Labor’s Office of the Inspector General and United States Secret Service led the
investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and John J. Kennedy are
prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court
of law.

###

Updated December 28, 2023

Component
USAO - New Hampshire

File and source

File: 2024-01-04-Hampton-Man-Indicted-on-Additional-Fraud-Schemes-USAO-D-NH-12-28-2023.pdf
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SHA-256: 17aeaa5a7770f8880af159a90efca86dfcf8eff942936062190762179ca58b34
Our copy: 2024-01-04-Hampton-Man-Indicted-on-Additional-Fraud-Schemes-USAO-D-NH-12-28-2023.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov