Office of the Inspector General, SSA
Social Security Administration
Citizen of Mexico Admits Misusing SSN to Receive Connecticut Unemployment Benefits
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LASARO ALVAREZ-TAPIA, 24, last residing in Wallingford, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven to one count of misuse of a Social Security number.
According to court documents and statements made in court, ALVAREZ-TAPIA is a citizen of Mexico unlawfully residing in the United States. From February 11, 2008 through July 19, 2009, ALVAREZ-TAPIA filed claims with the Connecticut Department of Labor by using a Social Security number that was not assigned to him, and by representing that he was a United States citizen. Based on his claims, ALVAREZ-TAPIA received $14,696 in unemployment insurance compensation benefits that he was not entitled to receive.
ALVAREZ-TAPIA is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns on January 4, 2012, at which time ALVAREZ-TAPIA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
ALVAREZ-TAPIA has been detained since his June 2011 arrest.
This case was investigated by the United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Calvin B. Kurimai and Peter S. Jongbloed.
