Dominican national from Dorchester pleads guilty to identity theft

A Dominican national living in Dorchester has pleaded guilty to illegally using the personal identifying information of an American citizen, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Friday.

Prosecutors say Luis Alison Roa Lara, 41, used the personal information to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license and that he also attempted to get a U.S. passport.

Lara pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of making a false statement in a U.S. passport application, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of misuse of a Social Security number, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. 

Lara was first arrested and charged in August 2024. Investigators say that for nearly a decade, he had been using the identity information of a Puerto Rican citizen of the United States. 

Lara is scheduled to be sentenced in June. The identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, while misuse of a Social Security number carries a sentence of up to five years. Making a false statement in a passport application carries a sentence of up to 10 years. Each sentence also calls for between one and three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Lara will also be subject to deportation once he completes his sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Morgan Rousseau

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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