Schenectady Man Sentenced to 33 Months for Identity Theft

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Fernando A. Lugo, age 55, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to serve 33 months in prison for stealing another person’s identity and using it to apply for a U.S. passport and government-administered benefits.  

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Special Agent-in-Charge David Schnorbus of the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and John F. Grasso, Special Agent-In-Charge of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

As part of his March 11 guilty plea, Lugo admitted that in April 2010, he submitted an application for a U.S. passport to the U.S. Post Office in Schenectady.  In February 2015, he applied to receive Medicaid benefits with the Schenectady County Department of Social Services.  On both applications, he used the name, Social Security Number and date of birth of a U.S. citizen whom he knew.

This case was investigated by Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and the Social Security Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.