Erpawi Roque Collado, a Dominican man with US residency, pleaded guilty on Friday before federal judge Brian Murphy in the District of Massachusetts (Boston) to stealing a Puerto Rican’s identity to obtain $24,128 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal prosecutors’ office reported. Roque Collado pleaded guilty to theft of public funds and to illegally obtaining SNAP funds between December 2016 and May 2025.
Judge Murphy scheduled sentencing for January 14, 2027. The charges were filed in April 2026 by assistant US attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit. According to the US Department of Justice, on the SNAP charge Roque Collado faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine; on the theft of public funds charge, up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.