California Man Charged with Theft of Social Security Benefits

United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Antonio Rodriguez Guido, aka Catarino Gerardo Saldana Molina, 65, of Madera, was arrested today by federal agents after a grand jury returned an indictment on April 26, 2012 charging him with theft of public money. Guido is scheduled for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin at 1:30 p.m. today.

According to the indictment, Guido applied for and received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits by claiming to be Catarino Gerardo Saldana Molina. Guido received SSDI benefits under the name of Molina between April 2002 and September 2010. As a result he unlawfully received $107,516 from the United States.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Investigations Division. Assistant United States Attorney Henry Z. Carbajal III is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Guido faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined after conviction at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.