“Six Dominicans arrested in the U.S. for alleged multi-million dollar SNAP program fraud”

United States federal authorities reported the arrest of 15 people accused of participating in a fraud scheme related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including six Dominican citizens with irregular immigration status.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, those arrested include four U.S. citizens and 11 undocumented immigrants, who face charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining benefits intended for low-income individuals.

According to the investigation, the defendants allegedly used stolen identities of government program beneficiaries, including recipients of disability and unemployment benefits, to illegally access public funds. Authorities estimate that the scheme caused losses exceeding 1.4 million dollars.

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Prosecutors maintain that the operation was carried out through the misuse of beneficiaries’ personal information, allowing for the fraudulent acquisition and use of resources allocated to social assistance programs.

Following the announcement of the arrests, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reiterated that the accused immigrants will face judicial proceedings before being subjected to immigration procedures.

“Once these illegal immigrants appear before the court, they will be quickly expelled from our country so that they do not defraud American taxpayers again,” a spokesperson for the agency stated when referring to the case.

Federal authorities indicated that the investigation remains open and they do not rule out the possibility of further arrests or charges related to the alleged fraud network.