Yesterday, a man from Chelsea was detained on suspicion of selling false Social Security cards and Legal Permanent Resident cards, sometimes known as “Green Cards.”
The defendant, Wilberto Sandoval Mazariego, age forty, was charged with one count of unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature. Yesterday, Sandoval Mazariego was taken into custody close to his home, and after making an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, he was remanded to custody for a hearing that has been scheduled for October 5, 2023.
During the course of the investigation against Tomas Xirum for allegedly selling counterfeit Green Cards and fraudulent Social Security cards, law enforcement allegedly identified Sandoval Mazariego as the person responsible for creating the bogus documents that Xirum was selling, as stated in the documents that include the charges against Xirum. After Xirum’s arrest in August 2022, law authorities allegedly discovered a text message string between Xirum and Sandoval Mazariego that comprised around 568 attachments. The string was exchanged between the two individuals. According to the allegations made in the messages, Xirum would routinely text Sandoval Mazariego pictures of unidentified people along with a name, date of birth, and country of birth. Sandoval Mazariego would then allegedly respond with images of Social Security cards and/or Green Cards that included the person’s photo and the information that Xirum had provided.
An undercover agent is said to have made the purchase of a counterfeit Green Card and a fraudulent Social Security card from Sandoval Mazariego on August 17, 2023.
Xirum entered a guilty plea on August 21, 2023, to three charges of unlawful production of a document or authentication feature as well as three counts of unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature. On January 11, 2024, he is going to have his punishment handed down.
Both the charge of unauthorised production of a document or authentication feature and the charge of unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature carry the potential for a term of up to 15 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000. The United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutes that govern the decision of a sentence in a criminal case are used by judges in federal district court to determine the appropriate sentence to impose on criminal defendants.
Today’s statement was delivered by Joshua S. Levy, who is acting as the United States Attorney, and Michael J. Krol, who is the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit.
The investigation was carried out by the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) of the Homeland Security Investigation. The DBFTF is a specialised investigative group comprised of personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in identifying, discouraging, and disrupting organisations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes. This investigation was carried out by the DBFTF.
The allegations are laid out in the specifics that are included in the criminal paperwork. In legal proceedings, a presumption of innocence applies to the defendant unless and until their guilt is shown beyond a shadow of a doubt.
