🚨BREAKING: Prison for SNAP Fraudster Raul Fernandez Vicioso and his conspirators stole the identities of over 100 people to steal SNAP benefits in multiple states. They then used the fraudulent SNAP benefits to purchase large quantities of bulk food items, which they sold at a restaurant for 100% profit. The conspirators then wired the fraud proceeds to individuals living in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, among other places. Vicioso was sentenced today to two years imprisonment. He also owes $1.1M in restitution. @DMAnews1, @OIGUSDA and many other great partners worked together to deliver justice in this case. READ MORE: https://t.co/TsHgzuDr1c
— Colin M. McDonald (@AAGMcDonald) October 5, 2026
A Fitchburg, Mass. man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for his role in a fraud scheme that used the stolen identities of more than 100 individuals to obtain $440,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The defendant and his alleged co-conspirators also fraudulently obtained over $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio Washington and Nevada.
Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution and $1.1 million in forfeiture. In March 2026, Raul Fernandez Vicioso pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit SNAP Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, SNAP benefit Fraud, Aiding and Abetting and Money Laundering.
The defendant was charged on Feb. 3, 2026 along with three co-conspirators –Roman Vequiz Fernandez, 32, a Venezuelan national living in Leominster, Mass.; Coralba Albarracin Siniva, 24, a Venezuelan national living in Leominster, Mass.; and Joel Vicioso Fernandez, 42, of Fitchburg, Mass.
Raul Fernandez Vicioso and his alleged co-conspirators purchased and used the stolen personal information of over 100 real people from multiple states to fraudulently obtain SNAP benefits. The stolen identities were used to create 24 “households” in SNAP applications. All of these applications, submitted in the names of over 100 people, were listed as living in two single-family apartments in Providence, R.I. A number of the stolen identities from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico were used to fraudulently obtain SNAP benefits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Raul Fernandez Vicioso used his own personal information to create fraudulent SNAP benefit accounts that were found commingled among the victim identities in the applications. In support of the fraudulently submitted SNAP applications, the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly provided images of counterfeit passports and passport cards, with metadata that indicated the images were taken inside or within the immediate vicinity of El Primo Restaurant – a restaurant operated by Raul Fernandez Vicioso in Leominster, Mass.
The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly used the fraudulent SNAP benefits cards to purchase large quantities of expensive bulk food items (such as multiple-pound packages of chicken, beef and pork) at various local wholesalers and food markets to stock El Primo Restaurant at no expense. With their supplies obtained for free through fraudulent SNAP benefits, they sold menu items at El Primo Restaurant at a complete profit, later wiring the fraud proceeds to individuals living in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, among other places.
According to the charging documents, between April 2020 and December 2021, the defendants and their co-conspirators further enriched themselves by over $700,000 by submitting fraudulent applications and supporting documents for PUA in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. The fraudulent PUA benefits were issued in the names of Raul Fernandez Vicioso and in the names of suspected identity theft victims, including identities common to the related the SNAP benefit fraud. At least 29 different identities were allegedly used in PUA applications in six different states – all of which listed the address for El Primo Restaurant as the residential address.
Bank records obtained during the investigation detail approximately $276,021 in fraudulent PUA benefits deposited into bank accounts held in the names of the El Primo Restaurant, Raul Fernandez Vicioso and other alleged co-conspirators. Other fraudulent PUA benefits were allegedly issued to prepaid cards in the identities of the various individuals which were applied for using known addresses and telephone numbers of the subjects.
During searches of Raul Fernandez Vicioso’s residence and El Primo Restaurant, fraudulently obtained Massachusetts and Rhode Island EBT cards, fraudulent documents bearing a Providence address involved in the alleged scheme, printed ledgers and handwritten lists of more than 100 identities and SNAP-related mailings were recovered.
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