N.H. man pleads guilty to using stolen Puerto Rican identities to buy nearly $100,000 in cars

A New Hampshire man pleaded guilty Friday to using stolen identities from Puerto Rican Americans to buy nearly $100,000 in cars.

Ricardo Acevedo, 34, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false representation of a social security number.

Acevedo and multiple co-defendants were charged by criminal complaint in September 2020 and later indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Tuesday. Acevedo and others involved in the scheme were also charged with these crimes in multiple states.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, between October 2017 and January 2019, Acevedo bought late-model cars and applied for 100% financing at multiple Massachusetts car dealerships.

Acevedo used personal information stolen from real U.S. citizens, fraudulent Puerto Rico driver’s licenses, and social security cards matching those identities as proof of identification for the applications, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Once the cars were purchased, some were exported out of the U.S.

In total, Acevedo used stolen identities to obtain car loans and purchase three cars collectively worth $90,582, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Acevedo also used the stolen identities to illegally open bank accounts and credit cards, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The charge of false representation of a social security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. 

U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris scheduled Acevedo’s sentencing for April 27, 2023.

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