BOSTON - A Dominican national was convicted today by a federal jury in Boston of false representation of a Social Security number.

Erika Bautista Diaz, 30, was convicted by a federal jury of one count of false representation of a Social Security number. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Feb. 28, 2019. Bautista Diaz was arrested and charged in July 2018 during a federal sweep targeting individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.

During the execution of a search warrant at Bautista Diaz’s home on July 26, 2018, law enforcement found identity documents in Bautista Diaz’s true name, as well as a Social Security card and birth certificate in the name of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico. Bautista Diaz used the name and Social Security number of the U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico for employment in Massachusetts and to receive paychecks. 

The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000. Bautista Diaz will be subject to deportation upon completion of her sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki and Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.