A 38-year-old North Andover man was sentenced last Wednesday to a year and a half in prison for fraudulently using someone else’s Social Security number.
Angel Manuel German Familia was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. German Familia is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. German Familia pleaded guilty On May 31 to two counts of false representation of Social Security number.
According to U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins’ office, in 2016, German Familia fraudulently applied to renew a driver’s license at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen. German Familia also applied for MassHealth benefits and opened bank accounts in the victim’s name. German Familia was using the stolen identity since as early as 2009 and had submitted a Social Security card and birth certificate in the victim’s name in a previous registry application.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, an investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of documents, identity and benefit fraud schemes.