HARTFORD, Conn. — A former truck driver has been charged in U.S. District Court with three counts of wire fraud related to a scheme to obtain Social Security, food stamp and unemployment benefits.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, between 2002 and 2024, Connecticut resident Ricardo Santiago earned income totaling over $500,000, which included employment as a truck driver with a valid commercial driver’s license for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulated entities.
Court documents showed that Santiago concealed this income from federal and state government agencies by providing employers false identification, including a Social Security number and card belonging to another individual.
The indictment also alleges that, in 2002, Santiago applied and began receiving payments for Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits, representing to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that Santiago was unable to work due to disability.
In 2017, Santiago completed paperwork to maintain benefits, claiming to be unemployed for the past two years and disabled. As a result, he ultimately collected over $300,000 in RSDI payments he wasn’t entitled to receive.
In addition, in February 2017, Santiago submitted an application for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or food stamps, to the Connecticut Department of Social Services (CT-DSS), according to the news release.
Santiago represented to the CT-DSS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that he earned no income from employment. Santiago began receiving SNAP benefits in March 2017 and subsequently completed forms to renew these benefits. He made more than $17,000 in purchases with SNAP benefits he wasn’t entitled to.
The indictment further alleges that, in April 2020, Santiago applied to the Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-DOL) for unemployment insurance benefits.
On the application, Santiago used a Social Security number belonging to another individual and represented to the CT-DOL and U.S. Department of Labor that Santiago was unemployed but available for work and physically able to work. Santiago subsequently completed weekly certifications making the same representations.
As a result, from April 2020 through February 2021, Santiago received more than $35,000 in payments he shouldn’t have received.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
