Dominican National Sentenced for Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for identity theft.

Maissel Avalo-Mejia, 30, a Dominican national residing in Foxboro, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 27 months in prison. He will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In May 2019, Avalo-Mejia pleaded guilty to one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Avalo-Mejia used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican man, who is presently a Specialist in the U.S. Army, to obtain several Massachusetts driver’s licenses, the most recent issued on April 10, 2014. Avalo-Mejia was identified, among other things, from a fingerprint match with a Dominican Republic identification document issued to him and bearing his photo.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jason Molina, 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 Sandra S. Bower of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.