{"id":425,"date":"2026-06-18T19:44:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425"},"modified":"2026-06-18T19:44:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:44:31","slug":"feds-nab-nearly-a-dozen-illegal-aliens-tied-to-massive-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425","title":{"rendered":"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

BOSTON\u2014 Federal authorities arrested 11 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts they say are tied to a massive taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scheme that exceeded $1 million.<\/p>\n

Read more Iran\u2019s \u2018Nepo\u2019 Supreme Leader Reacts To Trump\u2019s Deal \u2014 And It\u2019s Personal<\/a><\/p>\n

The Justice Department announced charges against a total of 15 alleged fraudsters, which includes the 11 illegal aliens, during a press conference on Thursday in Boston. Several of the accused fraudsters are \u201cJohn Does\u201d who used stolen identities and their names remain unknown.<\/p>\n

Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s fraud division, said federal investigators are \u201cstill working\u201d to determine the \u201ctrue identities\u201d of the unnamed fraudsters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know who they are fully, but we do know who they are not. They are not the American citizens they pretend to be, and from that initial lie the charges [announced] today allege that they gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds, could not access benefits they needed. And why? That was because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits. In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money, or more accurately your money, the American taxpayer\u2019s money. 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udea8Justice Department CHARGES 11 ILLEGAL ALIENS Among 15 in $1.4M Benefit Fraud Crackdown in Massachusetts<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America\u2019s safety-net by illegal aliens,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZvUH6yhQA5<\/p>\n

\u2014 National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) June 18, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Among those charged was 56-year-old Dominican national Santo Escolastico Cuello who allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and made false statements relating to a health care program in connection with $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.<\/p>\n

One of the accused illegal immigrant John Does is charged with false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to a health care program in connection with MassHealth fraud totaling $75,000 and aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n

Read more Dem\u2019s Favorite Senate Candidate Shares Bank Account With His Mom<\/a><\/p>\n

Another John Doe is charged with illegal acquisition or use of SNAP benefits, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft in connection with SNAP benefit fraud totaling $11,000.<\/p>\n

Federal authorities also charged Mario Baez Romero, a 45-year-old Dominican national who was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, with aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with $26,942 in SNAP fraud, and $48,785 in MassHealth fraud. He was encountered by federal authorities on a recreational boat near Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, in May.<\/p>\n

One of the suspects, Indian illegal immigrant Mitul Patel, 40, allegedly staged at least six false armed robberies of a convenience store to allow the alleged victims, including himself, to seek U visas for victims of violent crimes.<\/p>\n

Another accused fraudster was previously convicted in Massachusetts on federal drug charges, officials said.<\/p>\n

Authorities are still working to identify the John Does and have asked the government of the Dominican Republic for assistance, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during Thursday\u2019s presser.<\/p>\n

Illegal immigrants have traditionally flocked to Massachusetts for the state\u2019s generous public benefits system, including state health care programs, McDonald told The Daily Wire\u2019s Kassy Akiva during an interview that followed the press conference.<\/p>\n

McDonald also called out Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its demands for the state to hand over data on SNAP applicants and recipients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings like being transparent for the records that the state maintains because the state is responsible. Not only do they receive the money from the federal government, we give them the money. They are then responsible for the verification checks, the eligibility checks. We are asking and we have been asking for them to give us those records so that we can see and we can pressure test, just make sure that fraud\u2019s not happening, but they refuse to give us those records,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n

Read more Daily Wire Asks Vance About Trump\u2019s Red Line For Iran\u2019s Behavior<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt begs the question of what are you trying to hide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOSTON\u2014 Federal authorities arrested 11 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts they say are tied to a massive taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scheme that exceeded $1 million.The Justice Department announced charges against a total of 15 alleged fraudsters, which includes the 11 illegal aliens, during a press conference on Thursday in Boston. Several of the accused fraudsters are \u201cJohn Does\u201d who used stolen identities and their names remain unknown.Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s fraud division, said federal investigators are \u201cstill working\u201d to determine the \u201ctrue identities\u201d of the unnamed fraudsters.\u201cWe don\u2019t know who they are fully, but we do know who they are not. They are not the American citizens they pretend to be, and from that initial lie the charges [announced] today allege that they gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIn some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds, could not access benefits they needed. And why? That was because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits. In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money, or more accurately your money, the American taxpayer\u2019s money. 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,\u201d he added.\ud83d\udea8Justice Department CHARGES 11 ILLEGAL ALIENS Among 15 in $1.4M Benefit Fraud Crackdown in Massachusetts\u201cThese cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America\u2019s safety-net by illegal aliens,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZvUH6yhQA5\u2014 National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) June 18, 2026Among those charged was 56-year-old Dominican national Santo Escolastico Cuello who allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and made false statements relating to a health care program in connection with $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.One of the accused illegal immigrant John Does is charged with false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to a health care program in connection with MassHealth fraud totaling $75,000 and aggravated identity theft.Another John Doe is charged with illegal acquisition or use of SNAP benefits, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft in connection with SNAP benefit fraud totaling $11,000.Federal authorities also charged Mario Baez Romero, a 45-year-old Dominican national who was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, with aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with $26,942 in SNAP fraud, and $48,785 in MassHealth fraud. He was encountered by federal authorities on a recreational boat near Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, in May.One of the suspects, Indian illegal immigrant Mitul Patel, 40, allegedly staged at least six false armed robberies of a convenience store to allow the alleged victims, including himself, to seek U visas for victims of violent crimes.Another accused fraudster was previously convicted in Massachusetts on federal drug charges, officials said.Authorities are still working to identify the John Does and have asked the government of the Dominican Republic for assistance, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during Thursday\u2019s presser.Illegal immigrants have traditionally flocked to Massachusetts for the state\u2019s generous public benefits system, including state health care programs, McDonald told The Daily Wire\u2019s Kassy Akiva during an interview that followed the press conference.McDonald also called out Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its demands for the state to hand over data on SNAP applicants and recipients.\u201cThings like being transparent for the records that the state maintains because the state is responsible. Not only do they receive the money from the federal government, we give them the money. They are then responsible for the verification checks, the eligibility checks. We are asking and we have been asking for them to give us those records so that we can see and we can pressure test, just make sure that fraud\u2019s not happening, but they refuse to give us those records,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIt begs the question of what are you trying to hide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"\nFeds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BOSTON\u2014 Federal authorities arrested 11 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts they say are tied to a massive taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scheme that exceeded $1 million.The Justice Department announced charges against a total of 15 alleged fraudsters, which includes the 11 illegal aliens, during a press conference on Thursday in Boston. Several of the accused fraudsters are \u201cJohn Does\u201d who used stolen identities and their names remain unknown.Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s fraud division, said federal investigators are \u201cstill working\u201d to determine the \u201ctrue identities\u201d of the unnamed fraudsters.\u201cWe don\u2019t know who they are fully, but we do know who they are not. They are not the American citizens they pretend to be, and from that initial lie the charges [announced] today allege that they gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIn some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds, could not access benefits they needed. And why? That was because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits. In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money, or more accurately your money, the American taxpayer\u2019s money. 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,\u201d he added.\ud83d\udea8Justice Department CHARGES 11 ILLEGAL ALIENS Among 15 in $1.4M Benefit Fraud Crackdown in Massachusetts\u201cThese cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America\u2019s safety-net by illegal aliens,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZvUH6yhQA5\u2014 National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) June 18, 2026Among those charged was 56-year-old Dominican national Santo Escolastico Cuello who allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and made false statements relating to a health care program in connection with $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.One of the accused illegal immigrant John Does is charged with false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to a health care program in connection with MassHealth fraud totaling $75,000 and aggravated identity theft.Another John Doe is charged with illegal acquisition or use of SNAP benefits, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft in connection with SNAP benefit fraud totaling $11,000.Federal authorities also charged Mario Baez Romero, a 45-year-old Dominican national who was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, with aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with $26,942 in SNAP fraud, and $48,785 in MassHealth fraud. He was encountered by federal authorities on a recreational boat near Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, in May.One of the suspects, Indian illegal immigrant Mitul Patel, 40, allegedly staged at least six false armed robberies of a convenience store to allow the alleged victims, including himself, to seek U visas for victims of violent crimes.Another accused fraudster was previously convicted in Massachusetts on federal drug charges, officials said.Authorities are still working to identify the John Does and have asked the government of the Dominican Republic for assistance, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during Thursday\u2019s presser.Illegal immigrants have traditionally flocked to Massachusetts for the state\u2019s generous public benefits system, including state health care programs, McDonald told The Daily Wire\u2019s Kassy Akiva during an interview that followed the press conference.McDonald also called out Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its demands for the state to hand over data on SNAP applicants and recipients.\u201cThings like being transparent for the records that the state maintains because the state is responsible. Not only do they receive the money from the federal government, we give them the money. They are then responsible for the verification checks, the eligibility checks. We are asking and we have been asking for them to give us those records so that we can see and we can pressure test, just make sure that fraud\u2019s not happening, but they refuse to give us those records,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIt begs the question of what are you trying to hide,\u201d he said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T19:44:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T19:44:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425\"},\"wordCount\":756,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5fb6afd0c0549eb4d090d45a76f956be.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=425\",\"name\":\"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme - 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Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"BOSTON\u2014 Federal authorities arrested 11 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts they say are tied to a massive taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scheme that exceeded $1 million.The Justice Department announced charges against a total of 15 alleged fraudsters, which includes the 11 illegal aliens, during a press conference on Thursday in Boston. Several of the accused fraudsters are \u201cJohn Does\u201d who used stolen identities and their names remain unknown.Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s fraud division, said federal investigators are \u201cstill working\u201d to determine the \u201ctrue identities\u201d of the unnamed fraudsters.\u201cWe don\u2019t know who they are fully, but we do know who they are not. They are not the American citizens they pretend to be, and from that initial lie the charges [announced] today allege that they gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIn some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds, could not access benefits they needed. And why? That was because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits. In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money, or more accurately your money, the American taxpayer\u2019s money. 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,\u201d he added.\ud83d\udea8Justice Department CHARGES 11 ILLEGAL ALIENS Among 15 in $1.4M Benefit Fraud Crackdown in Massachusetts\u201cThese cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America\u2019s safety-net by illegal aliens,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZvUH6yhQA5\u2014 National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) June 18, 2026Among those charged was 56-year-old Dominican national Santo Escolastico Cuello who allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and made false statements relating to a health care program in connection with $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.One of the accused illegal immigrant John Does is charged with false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to a health care program in connection with MassHealth fraud totaling $75,000 and aggravated identity theft.Another John Doe is charged with illegal acquisition or use of SNAP benefits, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft in connection with SNAP benefit fraud totaling $11,000.Federal authorities also charged Mario Baez Romero, a 45-year-old Dominican national who was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, with aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with $26,942 in SNAP fraud, and $48,785 in MassHealth fraud. He was encountered by federal authorities on a recreational boat near Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, in May.One of the suspects, Indian illegal immigrant Mitul Patel, 40, allegedly staged at least six false armed robberies of a convenience store to allow the alleged victims, including himself, to seek U visas for victims of violent crimes.Another accused fraudster was previously convicted in Massachusetts on federal drug charges, officials said.Authorities are still working to identify the John Does and have asked the government of the Dominican Republic for assistance, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during Thursday\u2019s presser.Illegal immigrants have traditionally flocked to Massachusetts for the state\u2019s generous public benefits system, including state health care programs, McDonald told The Daily Wire\u2019s Kassy Akiva during an interview that followed the press conference.McDonald also called out Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its demands for the state to hand over data on SNAP applicants and recipients.\u201cThings like being transparent for the records that the state maintains because the state is responsible. Not only do they receive the money from the federal government, we give them the money. They are then responsible for the verification checks, the eligibility checks. We are asking and we have been asking for them to give us those records so that we can see and we can pressure test, just make sure that fraud\u2019s not happening, but they refuse to give us those records,\u201d McDonald said.\u201cIt begs the question of what are you trying to hide,\u201d he said.","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T19:44:31+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme","datePublished":"2026-06-18T19:44:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425"},"wordCount":756,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5fb6afd0c0549eb4d090d45a76f956be.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=425","name":"Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme - 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