Dominican National Charged with Fentanyl Distribution and Social Security Fraud

BOSTON – A Dominican national was arrested yesterday and charged with fentanyl distribution and Social Security fraud.

Domingo Garcia Suero, 53, a Dominican national residing in Haverhill, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed today with one count of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, specifically fentanyl, and one count of Social Security fraud. Garcia Suero will appear today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell.   

The criminal complaint alleges that in the fall of 2017, Garcia Suero sold fentanyl on four occasions. Garcia Suero also allegedly filed an application with the Registry of Motor Vehicles to renew his driver’s license in which he provided a name and a social security account number belonging to an individual in Puerto Rico.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, at least six years of supervised release and a fine of $2 million. The charge of Social Security fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Garica Suero will also face deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. The case was also investigated by the DEA Cross Borders Initiative Task Force 4; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and the Boston Field Office of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Haverhill Police Department, Lowell Housing Authority Police, Lowell Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and the State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxim Grinberg of Weinreb’s Criminal Division is 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.