BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – A Boston man, who was born in the Dominican Republic and is a Lawful Permanent Resident, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico and using the stolen identity to obtain more than $20,000 in federally funded benefits from Massachusetts.
Erpawi Roque Collado, 54, pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and theft of government money. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2027. Collado was indicted on April 23, 2026.
Collado used a stolen identity to obtain $24,128 in SNAP benefits from Massachusetts between December 2016 and May 2025.
The charge of unlawfully obtaining SNAP benefits provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of theft of government money provides for a sentence of up to 10 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
