A Fall River rogue has been slapped with an indictment for swiping an identity to snag a U.S. passport, the feds say, Arias Mejia, 43, a Dominican national, allegedly played a dangerous game of pretend, using the name and info of a Puerto Rican resident to dupe Uncle Sam and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles into granting him a Real ID. Mejia, who had his collar felt back on December 8, remains in the government's grip awaiting a federal court date in Beantown.
According to a federal announcement, the charges stacked against Mejia could land him in the clink for up to five years for the Social Security scheme, another ten for fibbing on the passport application, and, throw in a compulsory two years for the aggravated ID heist. These hefty punishments could also hit his wallet hard, to the tune of $250,000 for each count of his criminal trifecta. Previously, the phony has faced the music in state court, wearing the same stolen identity like a poorly-fitted suit.
The eagle-eyed crew at the Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) cracked the case wide open. These savvy sleuths work out of a coalition of local, state, and federal agencies specializing in sniffing out bogus paperwork and benefits bamboozlers.
Chipping in with vital clues, were Homeland Security sleuths from Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico’s own protectors at the Department of Public Safety. The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service; and, not to be outdone, number-crunchers from the Social Security Administration's watchdogs. This concerted crackdown on the document-duping dodge was brought to light by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, the top gun at Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is the point man on prosecution duties.
Mejia is still just a suspect wearing the presumption of innocence till the gavel sounds, and his guilt is etched in stone by the unforgiving pen of justice. Every card in the deck of allegations against him must face the scrutinizing gaze of Lady Justice herself before we can call it a hand well played.
