Dominican National Sentenced for Identity Theft

 BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Lawrence was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for Social Security fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Yonelin Manuel Baez Soto, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to two years and one day in prison and two years of supervised release. In June 2019, Baez Soto pleaded guilty to three counts of false representation of Social Security numbers and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Baez Soto will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.

On Oct. 15, 2014, Oct. 17, 2014, and Aug. 4, 2015, Baez Soto applied for a Massachusetts learner’s permit and/or a Massachusetts identification card using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican born United States Citizen. In September 2018, law enforcement agents encountered Baez Soto when he was serving a sentence at Essex County Correctional Facility for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl in the Puerto Rican man’s identity. Baez Soto was identified from, among other things, a fingerprint match with a Dominican Republic identification document issued to him and bearing his photo.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.