BOSTON, March 7, 2018—A Boston resident has been indicted for using stolen identities to obtain public assistance and avoid consequences for multiple criminal charges incurred over the past several years, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury today returned indictments charging CLEI SANDOVAL-ARIAS, 29, 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 prosecutors assigned to the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit worked with police in Boston, Lynn, and Revere; Massachusetts State Police; the Office of the State Auditor; the U.S. Social Security Administration; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The charges reflect his alleged use of an innocent Millbury man’s identity to obtain state benefits, rendering the victim ineligible for those programs, and providing police in Boston and Revere with the victim’s name and identity following arrest on four separate dates.

The investigation revealed that Sandoval-Arias also used the identity of a New Jersey man to obtain a Massachusetts identification card; those alleged actions took place in 2012, however, and are barred from prosecution by the statute of limitations.

While the investigation did not reveal how Sandoval-Arias obtained the Millbury man’s personal identifying information, the evidence suggests that he used it 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.

The evidence also suggests that Sandoval-Arias used this man’s name when he was arrested on various charges. Those cases include a 2015 Lynn case charging possession of a Class B substance; a 2015 Revere case charging assault and battery; and a 2016 case in Boston charging trafficking in a Class A substance. Some of the cases have already been dismissed; others will be amended to reflect the defendant’s true name.

Sandoval-Arias is expected to face arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on March 23.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.