BOSTON — A Dominican national residing in Lynn was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court for Social Security fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Kelvin Bautista Valdez, 32, was ordered by Judge Denise J. Casper to one year in prison and two years probation. He will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.
In February, Bautista Valdez pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number. He was arrested and charged last summer in a federal law enforcement sweep of 25 individuals accused of document and benefit fraud.
Dubbed “Double Trouble,” the investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, comprised of local, state and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.
In 2015, Bautista Valdez applied for a Massachusetts driver’s license using the name and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico. He presented a Puerto Rican birth certificate and a Social Security card in the other person’s name to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles as proof of his identity.
Based on the application and supporting identity documents, Bautista Valdez was issued a driver’s license in the name of the U.S. citizen.
