According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, a man from Lawrence confessed today in federal court to fraudulently acquiring COVID-19 relief funds and embezzling over $200,000 in Social Security benefits.
As per the U.S. attorney’s office, Randolph Dominguez, 57, has admitted guilt to wire fraud and theft of government money charges.
The sentencing for the case has been scheduled for May 21, 2025, confirmed by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris.
In June 2020, Dominguez applied for a loan for his interpreter business, Dominguez SP Interpreters, through the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
The U.S. attorney’s office has stated that the program offered loans to small businesses that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dominguez was caught by the department for falsely stating that his business had made $600,000 in gross revenue the previous year. In reality, the actual amount was only $16,989.
He used the entire $74,900 in EIDL funds he fraudulently received in July 2020 for non-business expenses, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Dominguez is said to have stolen approximately $163,642 in Social Security benefits from April 2001 to April 2023.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), his father, who was receiving benefits, passed away in March 2001. However, his death was not officially reported to the SSA.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Dominguez had been accessing monthly payments from the agency for over 22 years. He used his deceased father’s debit card to withdraw cash and make purchases during this time.
