Dominican National Pleads Guilty to False Identity Crimes

BOSTON – A Dominican national who previously resided in Lawrence pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to fraudulently applying for a Social Security number.

Robely Eladio De Jesus Guerrero, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of false representation of a Social Security number. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

On Jan. 4, 2016, De Jesus Guerrero used the Social Security number of a U.S. citizen to submit a renewal application for a Massachusetts driver’s license under the victim’s name.

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.

The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.  The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Office; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Boston; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Massachusetts State Police; and the Massachusetts Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam W. Deitch of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.