Man indicted for ID fraud, stealing SNAP, health benefits

A 29-year-old Boston man was indicted yesterday for using stolen identities to avoid drug charges and collect food stamps and MassHealth benefits, authorities said.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Clei Sandoval-Arias with two counts of identity fraud, four counts of furnishing a false name at arrest and two counts of larceny over $250 by single scheme, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Sandoval-Arias is accused of using a Millbury man’s identity to obtain state benefits — rendering the victim ineligible for those programs — and providing Boston and Revere police with the victim’s name after he was arrested four different times on drug and assault charges.

Conley said evidence suggests Sandoval-Arias used the man’s identity to obtain more than $4,720 in MassHealth and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The victim reported that this led to difficulties in enrolling in MassHealth under his true name.

Sandoval-Arias is also accused of using the man’s name when he was arrested in Lynn in 2015 on a charge of possessing a Class B substance; in Revere in 2015 on a charge of assault and battery; and in Boston in 2016 on a charge of trafficking a Class A substance.

Sandoval-Arias is expected to be arraigned March 23 in Suffolk Superior Court.