The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts has revealed a $9 million public benefits fraud ring involving nine Dominican nationals who used stolen identities to enroll in public assistance programs. The fraudsters allegedly used stolen IDs, typically belonging to U.,S. citizens from Puerto Rico, to obtain government-issued IDs, including those from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) and U.N. passports. The defendants, who also face several federal charges related to identity theft and fraud, allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded programs. This is part of a larger federal crackdown on benefit fraud, with nearly $9 billion uncovered since December 2025. The arrests come amid a series of public benefits and public benefits busts across the state, with one recently convicted of $1 million SNAP fraud at a Leominster restaurant.