BOSTON - A Dominican national residing in Lynn pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to Social Security fraud.
Kelvin Bautista Valdez, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2019. Bautista Valdez was arrested and charged in a July 2018 federal law enforcement sweep of 25 individuals accused of document and benefit fraud.
Dubbed “Double Trouble," the July 2018 investigation was aimed at detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.
On Jan. 20, 2015, Bautista Valdez, applied for a Massachusetts driver’s license using the name and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican citizen. He presented a Puerto Rican birth certificate and a Social Security card in the other person’s name to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles as proof of his identity. Based on the application and supporting identity documents, Bautista Valdez was issued a driver’s license in the name of the Puerto Rican citizen.
The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; Adam Schneider, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office; Michael Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
