Federal prosecutors and investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division on Thursday announced the arrests of 15 individuals—11 illegal aliens and four U.S. citizens—in Massachusetts for their roles in stealing more than $1.4 million in benefit fraud schemes.
The charges were unveiled by United States Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, as part of the Trump administration’s effort to combat fraud in federal benefit programs.
The illegal immigrant suspects allegedly “assumed stolen identities to steal these taxpayer-funded benefits and avoid detection,” Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division told reporters.
“They gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans. In some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds could not access benefits they needed—because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits,” McDonald explained.
“In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money,” he added. “Illegal immigration carries real and substantial costs to American taxpayers and places enormous strain on our public benefits systems, and the further we look, the more fraud we find.”
“After these 11 criminal illegal aliens face justice, they will be swiftly removed from our country so they can NEVER defraud American taxpayers again,” the Department of Homeland Security posted on X.
Read more LA City Council Advances Measure to Allow Noncitizens to Vote in Local Elections
Prosecutors said the cases involved stolen benefits from SNAP, MassHealth, Social Security and Unemployment Insurance, ranging from $4,000 to $500,000.
“Today’s charges allege fraudulent conduct targeting the limited money set aside to help the most needy and the most vulnerable among us,” McDonald said.
Benefit fraud of various types has been a top priority of the Trump administration.
“In less than two months following creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, the Department of Justice has announced over 650 major fraud enforcement activities across the country, including major takedowns in Minnesota, California and Ohio and here today in Massachusetts,” McDonald told reporters.
“In response to identifying serious fraud in Massachusetts, HSI has significantly increased our resources dedicated to rooting out these pernicious fraudsters. With a commitment of resources, HSI is making real progress, dismantling identity document dealers, finding government benefit fraudsters, and arresting those who are stealing from government taxpayer-funded programs,” said Jeff Grimming, Special Agent in Charge, HSI New England.
Read more Harry Potter Taught a Generation to Question Authority. So Why Can’t We Talk About J. K. Rowling?
