US Attorney announces $1 million SNAP, Medicaid fraud bust in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Another major public benefits fraud ring has been uncovered in Massachusetts, as U.S. Attorney Leah Foley announces a $9 million scheme busted by the Feds involving nine Dominican nationals who used stolen identities to enroll in public assistance programs.

“Nine individuals have been charged in a coordinated federal crackdown on benefit fraud schemes that exploited stolen identities to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded programs – including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), MassHealth and Social Security benefits. Nearly $9 million in benefit fraud has been uncovered since December 2025,” Foley’s office wrote in a Thursday release.

The feds have charged nine Dominican nationals living in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as part of the U.S. Attorney’s ongoing effort to investigate and prosecute benefits fraud.

Foley’s office says the defendants used stolen identities – typically belonging to U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico – to obtain government-issued IDs. They say this included credentials from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) and U.S. passports to apply for and receive SNAP, Medicaid and Social Security benefits. The office says that some defendants allegedly stole identities for several years at a time – including one defendant who apparently lived under a stolen identity for over 20 years.

Incredibly, some defendants were arrested multiple times and even convicted under the same false identities, feds say.

“According to the charging documents, the alleged schemes resulted in approximately $943,197 in total losses to public assistance programs – including approximately $149,775 in SNAP benefits, approximately $776,715 in MassHealth benefits and approximately $16,707 in Social Security benefits,” Foley’s office said.

Defendants

The nine individuals arrested include one U.S. Citizen, one Lawful Permanent Resident, and seven illegal immigrants who live in various locations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Two of the defendants still can’t be identified by law enforcement. They all face several federal charges related to identity theft and fraud.

— Juan Felipe Chalas, 58, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Salem, N.H., was charged with making a false statement in a passport application, aggravated identity theft and unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits.

— Efrain Rivera, 54, a United States citizen from Puerto Rico, living in New Bedford, Mass., was charged with unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits, misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.

— Danis Piron Lara, 51, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Dorchester, Mass. was charged with aggravated identity theft, unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits and making false statements relating to a health care program.

— Erpawi Roque Collado, 53, a Lawful Permanent Resident living in Boston, Mass. who was born in the Dominican Republic, was charged with unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits.

— John Doe aka Wilkin Emilio Pimental Pereyra, 44, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Boston, Mass., was charged with aggravated identity theft, theft of government benefits and unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits.

— John Doe, an individual whose true identity is unknown, who was living in Hyde Park, Mass., was charged with unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits, misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.

— Mercedes Soto Capellan, 53, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lawrence, Mass., was charged with unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits.

— Oscar Gonzalez Melo, 59, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Boston, Mass., was charged with unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits, making false statements related to health care benefits, making false statements related to Social Security benefits and aggravated identity theft.

— Cruz Augusta Pena Arias, 58, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Salem, Mass., was charged with making a false statement in an application for a United States passport, aggravated identity theft and unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits.

All nine defendants face decades in prison, if convicted. It is not clear when the defendants will appear in federal court.

Following a pattern

The announcement by Foley’s office comes amid a series of SNAP and public benefits fraud busts across the state.

Just this week, one of the defendants in another $1 million SNAP fraud scheme run out of a Leominster restaurant, pleaded guilty in federal court. In December, Foley’s office busted two Haitian nationals in a $7 million SNAP fraud scheme that ran out of a tiny store operating as a front for the criminal operation in Mattapan.

The federal busts come as state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office has uncovered tens of millions of dollars in SNAP and Medicaid fraud – including millions of dollars lost to fraud in just the first quarter of FY26 alone, according to a recent auditor’s report.

In February, the Herald reported on a Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) whistleblower’s claims of “rampant” fraud within the agency.

This all as Gov. Maura Healey refuses to turn over information on SNAP recipients in Massachusetts, including immigration status, to the USDA and the Trump administration who say they are seeking to root out waste, fraud and abuse.

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