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3w ago

Massachusetts Prosecutors Charge Nine in Benefits ID‑Theft Schemes, Launch Fraud Team

The move signals a broader push to fast‑track cases built on stolen identities that took advantage of looser pandemic‑era checks.

Warning notice regarding SNAP and EBT fraud, Lafayette, California, March 24, 2026.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley speaks alongside U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito during a SNAP and Unemployment Benefits fraud case press conference at Moakley Federal Courthouse Feb. 3.
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Worden Farm (www.wordenfarm.com) says, “We at Worden Farm are happy to work with the USDA SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)…,” by using the market tokens from the Saturday Morning Market, in St. Petersburg, FL on April 14, 2012. At this market, SNAP benefit recipients use their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to withdraw the dollar amount in token, in a similar way, a debit card is used. The tokens are exchanged with vendors for food, food producing plants or seeds for food producing plants as wanted and available. Tokens are then returned to the market organizer for an equal dollar amount that is electronically deposited into the vendor’s bank account. Worden Farm is a family farm that provides certified organic produce to Southwest Florida through community supported agriculture (CSA) membership programs and retail sale at several farmer’s (community) markets. Depending on the state, EBT cards can also hold value from other food and nutrition partners that can add a certain value or provide a certain degree of match to the value of other programs add to the card. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.

Overview

  • A U.S. Attorney’s Office rollout, which on Thursday introduced a Benefit and Voter Fraud Team, also brought charges against nine people accused of stealing about $943,197 in SNAP, MassHealth and Social Security funds.
  • Prosecutors say the defendants used stolen identities of U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico to get state IDs and sometimes U.S. passports, then applied for aid under those names over years.
  • The new unit is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Mallard and Mark Grady and opened a public tip line at 1-855-SCAM-MA-1 for reporting suspected benefit or voter fraud.
  • In a related case, Leominster restaurant operator Raul Fernandez Vicioso pleaded guilty Wednesday to SNAP, wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme over $1 million that used more than 100 identities and stocked his restaurant with about $440,000 in illicit food benefits.
  • U.S. Attorney Leah Foley says her office has charged 15 people since December in cases totaling nearly $9 million and has dozens of investigations pending, with Vicioso’s sentencing set for July 9.