U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Hyde Park Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-Relief and Federal Assistance Benefit Fraud (USAO D-MA 02/28/2023) (2023-03-03)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, dated Tuesday, February 28, 2023, announcing that Fernando Mateo Valenzuela, 69, of Hyde Park, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to three counts of mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of misrepresentation of a Social Security number. Valenzuela was charged by criminal complaint in June 2022 and indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2022. The release states that Valenzuela used the identity of a United States citizen to receive $29,051 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits under the CARES Act and $7,230 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled the sentencing.

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Full text

PRESS RELEASE


Hyde Park Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-
Relief and Federal Assistance Benefit Fraud
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

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


BOSTON – A Hyde Park man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to using
a stolen identity to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief funds and Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, previously known as Food Stamps.

Fernando Mateo Valenzuela, 69, pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud, two counts
of aggravated identity theft and two counts of misrepresentation of a Social Security
number. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for May, 24 2023.
Valenzuela was charged by criminal complaint in June 2022 and subsequently indicted
by a federal grand jury in August 2022.

Valenzuela used the identity of a United States citizen to apply for and receive $29,051
in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, made available under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Valenzuela also used the
identity to apply for and receive $7,230 in SNAP benefits.

The charges of mail fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three
of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of aggravated identity
theft each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, one of
supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of misrepresentation of a
Social Security number each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to
three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 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.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of
Investigation, Northeast Region; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of
Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in
Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Phillip M. Coyne,
Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office
of Inspector General; Ketty Larco-Ward, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service, Boston Division; and John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the
Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided
by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of
Investigations, Boston Field Division; United States Marshals Service; U.S. Department of
State, Diplomatic Security Service; and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S.
Attorney David Tobin of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and
Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising
personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting,
deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of
document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with
agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-
related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most
culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting
and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing
information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information
on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud
(NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Updated February 28, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - Massachusetts


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