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Pawtucket man pleads guilty to defrauding SNAP and cashing altered Treasury checks

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Friday, April 4, 2025

Pawtucket man pleads guilty to defrauding SNAP and cashing altered Treasury checks

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Sara Miron Bloom Acting United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island | News From The States

A Pawtucket resident, Reynaldo Martinez, age 32, admitted in federal court to defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the U.S. Treasury of over $100,000. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Martinez confessed to using stolen identities and fraudulent Social Security numbers to obtain at least 40 SNAP EBT cards. According to court documents, he visited several Rhode Island Department of Human Services offices, using fake drivers' licenses with his photo and others' Social Security numbers, including those of deceased individuals and a juvenile. Through this scheme, Martinez acquired $33,192.36 in SNAP benefits.

In a separate scheme, Martinez admitted to cashing altered U.S. Treasury checks. He and accomplices obtained these checks, made payable to others, and modified them to cash using counterfeit identification. The total value of these fraudulent Treasury checks was $79,532.32.

Martinez pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and individual counts of misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft. His sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2025, with the final sentence pending a federal judge's review of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

Previously, Martinez had been arrested and convicted on numerous occasions for fraud and other offenses since 2012. In November 2017, he pleaded guilty in a Rhode Island U.S. District Court to charges including aggravated identity theft and bank fraud, leading to a 48-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release.

Assistant United States Attorney Peter I Roklan is managing this case's prosecution. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, and several law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and Rhode Island State Police, among others.

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