Prosecutors: Men Stole Relief Funds, Laundered Through iPhones

LAWRENCE, MA —A Lawrence man and a Methuen man were indicted Tuesday on multiple fraud charges. Prosecutors said the two men used stolen identities to defraud the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loans program of over $452,000.

Darwyn Joseph, 24, of Lawrence and Ramon Joseph Cruz, Jr., 24, of Methuen were both indicted on four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the two men used stolen identities to open bank accounts. They linked those bank accounts to other fraudulent bank accounts set up to receive Economic Injury Disaster Loans funds.

The two men also received debit cards associated with the bank accounts and laundered the relief funds by buying around $250,000 worth of iPhones for re-sale, prosecutors said. They also wired some of the funds to the Dominican Republic.

The defendants were arrested and charged by criminal complaint in December.

Joseph and Cruz face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or up to twice the gross gain for the charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to other sentences, plus one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

All people are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.