A Hampton man described as a “serial fraudster” has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for his crimes.
Anthony Silva, 39, pleaded guilty earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Concord to three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Officials said he stole more than a million dollars by using stolen identities to obtain federal and state benefits and credit cards.
In addition to the prison sentence, Silva was ordered to pay restitution and forfeit funds in multiple bank accounts totaling $830,000, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
In the statement, U.S. Attorney Jane Young called Silva “a serial fraudster who used dozens of stolen identities to enrich himself.”
“He did not merely steal funds from state and federal governments,” Young said. “Rather, he fleeced pools of funds which were designed specifically to serve as a lifeline to millions of Americans during the worst health crisis in a century.”
Authorities said Silva orchestrated four separate fraud schemes, using stolen identities to obtain unemployment insurance benefits from Vermont and Massachusetts, CARES Act funds, and American Express credit cards that were then used to make more than $50,000 in retail purchases.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service led the investigation.
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