For a fraudster, only one identity, stolen or synthetic, is needed for a money-making opportunity. And it’s as lucrative or self-sustaining as the fraudster wants it to be. For instance, Ricardo Santiago, a fraudster that engaged in three government benefit schemes for over 20 years using a stolen identity – slow and easy roll out of fraud that stole more than $371,686 from the U.S. taxpayer. From 2002 until 2024, Santiago held 20 jobs and earned more than $580,000 in income. But Santiago concealed his employment and income from federal and state government agencies by providing his employers with false identification with a Social Security Number and card belonging to another individual. In covering up his own identity, he was able to fraudulently file for thousands of dollars in disability, SNAP, and unemployment benefits as an unemployed man.
In 2002, Santiago applied for and began receiving Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) using his own identity, claiming to the Social Security Administration that he was unable to work due to disability. Santiago ultimately collected more than $316,000 in RSDI payments to which he was not entitled. Then, in 2017, again using his own identity, Santiago submitted to the Connecticut Department of Social Services (CT-DSS) an application for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits claiming he earned no income from employment. Santiago made more than $18,000 in purchases with SNAP benefits to which he was not entitled.
In April 2020, Santiago applied to the Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-DOL) for Unemployment Insurance benefits, this time using a Social Security Number belonging to another individual. He claimed to be willing and able to work but victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. Santiago received more than $36,000 in unemployment benefits using the stolen identity.
On February 24, 2025, Santiago pleaded guilty and agreed to restitution of $371,686.
Excellent job by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on the article “Hartford man pleads guilty to wire fraud, ordered to pay $371K in restitution, feds say” published by Connecticut Post on February 24, 2025.
A city man has plead guilty to a charge connected to his use of fraud to collect more than $370,000 in social security, unemployment and food stamp benefits, officials say.
Ricardo Santiago, 59, plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in Hartford on Monday, according to a news release from acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Marc Silverman. Between 2002 and 2024, Silverman said, Santiago held jobs with more than 20 employers and earned income totaling more than $580,000.
