(The Center Square) – Border-related crimes continue to be prosecuted in Massachusetts, including for drug smuggling, identity theft and Social Security fraud.
In one case, a Boston-area painting company was used as a front for a drug trafficking and money laundering operation spanning seven states. In two others, Dominican nationals committed identity theft to obtain Massachusetts identification, including a REAL ID to fly.
In the drug trafficking and money laundering scheme headquartered in Gardner, Mass., 18 people were arrested and charged in seven states.
The bust was made as record amounts of illicit drugs, including cocaine, continue to pour into the U.S. from Mexico, The Center Square reported.
According to the charges, Vietnamese Hai Son Pham, of Gardner, Mass., is charged with running a drug trafficking organization in North Worcester County out of his commercial and residential painting company, Infinite Painting. He and his co-conspirators are accused of conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, counterfeit pills and other controlled substances nationwide, according to the charges.
The painting company was used to launder drug proceeds as were “multiple financial institutions by concealing the illegal source of these funds,” according to the charges.
The 18 individuals were arrested and charged and appeared in federal courts in Worcester, Mass., Trenton, NJ, Orlando, Fla., Dallas, Tulsa, Okla., Riverside, Calif. and Honolulu, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts said.
The majority, 11, were charged in Massachusetts. Two each were charged in Texas and California; one each in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida and Hawaii, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, they each face decades in prison and fines totaling more than $1 million.
In another case, a Dominican national, Juan Carlos Lugo Gonzalez, illegally living in Lawrence, Mass., was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, falsely using a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.
Beginning in 2020, he and others began laundering drug trafficking proceeds, investigators said. They were busted by an undercover law enforcement operation involving a multi-agency Homeland Security Task Force initiative. Undercover agents were involved in three money laundering attempts totaling more than $300,000 in drug proceeds, according to the complaint.
He also committed identity theft by using someone else’s Social Security number to apply for and obtain a Massachusetts ID and lived in the state under this alias, according to the complaint.
In another case, another Dominican, Victor Urena-Almanzar, also illegally living in Methuen, Mass., was charged with aggravated identity theft. The charges allege he stole a U.S. citizen’s Social Security number to obtain multiple fraudulent IDs, including Massachusetts identification cards and a U.S passport in the victim’s name.
He then used the fraudulent passport to obtain a Massachusetts REAL ID identification card and used it to travel back and forth to the Dominican Republic, according to the charges.
This is after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in 2001 in California and was convicted of illegal communication device related fraud in Wisconsin in 1995. It is unclear when he came into the country or why he was not previously deported. Felonies, including drug trafficking, are deportable offenses.
If convicted, he faces several years in prison and half a million dollars in fines.
Both Dominicans face deportation after serving their sentences.
The border crime busts continue as federal law enforcement are also arresting violent fugitives in Massachusetts as its governor and local mayors continue to advance sanctuary city policies.
