BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for misusing a Social Security number to fraudulently obtain a Massachusetts ID and driver’s license as well as MassHealth benefits.
Manuel Alejandro Pujols Diaz, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 25 months in prison. On May 16, 2022, Pujols pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Pujols used the name and Social Security number of another individual to submit fraudulent applications to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in July 2016, August 2016 and September 2016. As a result, Pujols obtained a Massachusetts ID and driver’s license under the victim’s identity as well as MassHealth benefits.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized field investigative group comprised of personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, Deputy Chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, prosecuted the case.