Pawtucket Man Sentenced In Federal Identity Fraud Case

PROVIDENCE, RI — People from Massachusetts and Rhode Island — including a Pawtucket man — were among those recently sentenced in connection with a $1.3 million multi-state identity theft scheme.

Octavio Andres Difo-Castro, 30, of New York, was marked as the ringleader of a conspiracy to defraud banks, finance companies, car dealerships and retailers. He was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of nearly $650,000, Acting U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus said in a news release.

Myrus said Difo-Castro arrived in the U.S. in 2016 and started purchasing stolen identities on the dark web. He used them to make fake drivers licenses, open bank accounts, obtain store credit cards, and get fraudulent car loans. In all, banks and credit unions were defrauded of $899,866, cellphone retailers of $117,341, and clothing retailers of $14,067. Difo-Castro pleaded guilty in 2019 to a host of fraud charges.

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Difo-Castro worked with a various lieutenants. The Pawtucket man implicated in the scheme is Donald A. Wicklund, 34. Wicklund was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of nearly $81,000. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, fraudulent use of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and bank fraud.

Others sentenced to prison were Reynaldo Martinez, 25, of Providence; Jason McDonald, 38, of Attleboro; Yenesia Pujols, 48, of Providence; Angel L. Morales, 54, of New York; and Patricia Peralta, 30, of Patterson, N.J. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Israel Arana Ruiz Velasco, 27, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The investigations were conducted by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations, and the U.S. Secret Service