4 Massachusetts residents charged in $1 million multi-state SNAP, pandemic benefits fraud scheme

CBS News ^ | February 3, 2026 | Neal Riley, Louisa Moller

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Four Massachusetts residents are accused of using more than 100 stolen identities to get over $1 million in food stamps and pandemic-era unemployment benefits in a multi-state fraud scheme, federal prosecutors say.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said stolen identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico were used to obtain $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The defendants also allegedly submitted fraudulent documents in order to receive more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington and Nevada.

--snip--

Three defendants charged with conspiracy to use, transfer, acquire and possess SNAP benefits are due to appear in federal court in Worcester on Tuesday. They are 42-year-old Joel Vicioso Fernandez of Fitchburg, and two Venezuelan nationals living in Leominster: 32-year-old Roman Yequiz Fernandez and 24-year-old Coralba Albarracin Siniva.

A fourth man, 37-year-old Raul Fernandez Vicioso of Fitchburg, is charged with conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud and aiding and abetting and money laundering. He will be in court at a later date.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Miscellaneous; US: Kentucky; US: Massachusetts; US: Mississippi; US: Nevada; US: New Jersey; US: New York; US: Ohio; US: Pennsylvania; US: Rhode Island; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: albarracinsiniva; coralba; coralbasiniva; covid; ct; fernandez; fl; fraud; joelviciosofernandez; massachusetts; pandemic; pau; pua; puertorico; raulfernandezvicioso; siniva; snap; snapbenefits; snapfraud; venezuela; venezuelan; venezuelannational; venezuelannationals; venezuelans; welfarefraud; yequizfernandez

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Sigh.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Why are all these Welfare fraud cases making the headlines now? Because they were never prioritized before. Fraud occurred under prior presidents and was simply allowed to happen. Or maybe one or two cases were publicized to pretend that the government was trying to root out fraud. A bank robber or jewel thief getting away with a $1 million is an amateur. Welfare and food stamp fraudsters make that in a month.

[George from New England]

Some more intelligent people are behind this.
Tip of iceberg

[Pearls Before Swine]

A few hundred K per miscreant. Pikers.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Pandemic fraud was a feature not a bug. Ditto for welfare in general, particularly food stamps

[Organic Panic]

It is making headlines now because they are getting caught. Biden, Obama let it happen.

All these gangsters give their kick backs to the cartel bosses who in turn, use the money to build the gang, grease palms, and smuggle more people and drugs across the border who do the same thing.

[Tommy Revolts]

Joel Vicioso Fernandez
Roman Yequiz Fernandez
Coralba Albarracin Siniva
Raul Fernandez Vicioso

When will the protests start to protect these nationals from being targeted?

[Presbyterian Reporter]

So the USDA sends buckets of EBT money to the States and then the States sends that money to the fraudsters.

And neither the USDA, nor the States is doing anything to use the computing power available today to see if there are 100 people living in an apartment could be defrauding the government.

[CivilWarBrewing]

Has anyone noticed that the DemonRat party has serious money issues in the aftermath of USAID, Somali day care centers, Medicaid/Medicare/SNAP/Covid relief funds, etc. have been more closely scrutinized with many shut down and numerous arrests since Trump took office?

How many of these DemonRat campaign money-laundering schemes are there nationwide, I wonder.

Also, the DemonRat fundraising website called ACTBLUE should've been SHUT DOWN ALREADY !!!!! It's nothing more than a portal for money STOLEN via fraud schemes.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Vicioso Fernandez, Yequiz Fernandez, Albarracin Siniva and Fernandez Vicioso.

All Mayflower descendants.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Here is the video of Leah Foley making the announcement-—

U.S. Attorney Announces Charges In Crackdown Over ‘Massive’ Pandemic, SNAP Fraud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdCN9VsNfT8

[ProtectOurFreedom]

How many DECADES did we hear politicians railing against "Waste, Fraud and Abuse"? Here's one goody...try not to bust a gut laughing when reading this tripe...Let us know if you need us to call 911 for you to handle your apoplexy.

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On March 4, 1993, Vice President Al Gore was appointed by Clinton to lead the National Performance Review (NPR), a panel aimed at reducing waste, fraud, and inefficiency in the federal government. This initiative aimed to reform the federal government by reducing waste, fraud, and inefficiency.

Goals of the National Performance Review

• Streamline Government Operations: The NPR sought to cut red tape and improve the efficiency of government services.
• Reduce Spending: The initiative aimed to save taxpayers money by eliminating unnecessary expenditures.
• Enhance Accountability: The NPR focused on holding federal employees accountable for their performance and results.

Achievements and Challenges

• Reported Savings: Gore claimed that the NPR had saved the federal government approximately $118 billion. However, a subsequent report from the Government Reform and Oversight Committee indicated that actual savings were only about $3 billion.
• Ongoing Issues: The report highlighted significant ongoing waste and mismanagement within the government, including:
  • $125 billion in uncollected debts.
  • $26 billion lost annually in Medicare and Medicaid due to fraud.
  • Overlapping federal job training programs costing $20 billion with minimal impact.

Conclusion

Al Gore's leadership of the National Performance Review was a significant effort to reform government operations, though it faced criticism regarding its effectiveness and actual savings. The initiative aimed to create a more efficient government, but many challenges remained.

[Thank You Rush]

Joel Vicioso Fernandez
Roman Yequiz Fernandez
Coralba Albarracin Siniva
Raul Fernandez Vicioso

Why did it take 7 replies to point that out? Some think it’s unfair to TARGET foreigners in our country??? UNFAIR..It’s the first clue! Crazy! How about we just look at people with two last names?

[Presbyterian Reporter]

I learned from this video that you can apply for SNAP benefits online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdCN9VsNfT8

Should we see if Mickey Mouse can get SNAP benefits???????

[ladyjane]

You need to tell Mayflower Madam. They may be relatives.

[Dan Zachary]

Another day and millions more in fraud discovered. Wonder how many billions have been discovered so far? Hard to keep up.

We need to just stop handing out our tax money left and right hoping for the best.

[Bigg Red]

Diversity is our strength....

[Fireone]

Now, arrest the elected officials who showed the perps how to pull this off.
I guarantee you, there’s a bunch.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

“””Now, arrest the elected officials who showed the perps how to pull this off.
I guarantee you, there’s a bunch.”””

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Also arrest the Government Employees.

I guarantee you, there’s a bunch.

[MayflowerMadam]

WE DISAVOW!! 😁😁😁