One of the the four defendants in a federal SNAP fraud bust that totaled over $1 million and saw the identities of over 100 people stolen from several states pleaded guilty Wednesday to money laundering, fraud, conspiracy and other charges in Boston federal court.
Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 37, a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic living in Fitchburg, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Vicioso was charged with three co-defendants — two illegal immigrants and one green card holder — on Feb. 3 after U.S. Attorney Leah Foley announced their arrests and detailed their scheme. Foley announced an alleged SNAP fraud involving more than 100 stolen identities used to obtain over $1 million in SNAP and Public Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.
“It is no secret that there is rampant fraud across this nation,” Foley said when announcing the bust.
“The charges announced today are just a snapshot of the bigger picture, not just in Massachusetts, but across the country, people exploiting our precious taxpayer money and government resources for their own personal gain,” Foley said at the Feb. 3 press conference. “These benefits are intended to enable low income households to obtain a more nutritious diet by increasing their food purchasing power, not to stock someone’s restaurant,” she said.
Vicioso and his co-defendants stole identities from U.S. citizens in several states, using them to obtain over $440,000 in SNAP benefits, including $325,000 worth from Rhode Island and $115,000 from Massachusetts. The crew then used the stolen benefits to purchase bulk amounts of food to resell for a profit at Vicioso’s Leominster restaurant, El Primo.
While mostly making these bulk purchases at local wholesalers, at least one suspicious purchase was made just three doors down at Big Mania Meat Market — located in the same shopping plaza just a few doors down from El Primo, according to an affidavit from a special agent with the USDA.
The affidavit says the crew made another purchase at Big Mania Meat Market in June 2024 for $710.02 using a Rhode Island EBT card, leaving this time with just a single bottle of chocolate milk.
“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,” Foley’s office said in a press release.
“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,” it said.
The alleged co-conspirators include Vicioso’s wife, Joel Vicioso Fernandez, 42, of Fitchburg; Roman Vequiz Fernandez, 32, a Venezuelan national living in Leominster; and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, 24, also a Venezuelan national living in Leominster.
Vicioso pleaded guilty as the state Auditor’s Office has uncovered tens of millions of dollars in SNAP and other public benefits fraud and after the Herald reported on a Department of Transitional Assistance whistleblower’s claims of “rampant” fraud within the agency.
Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healey refuses to turn over information on SNAP recipients in Massachusetts, including immigration status, to the USDA and the Trump administration for what they say is to root out waste, fraud and abuse.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman has scheduled sentencing for July 9. Vicioso faces up to 20 years or more in prison.
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