Chelsea Man Charged With Attempting To Issue Fraudulent Identification

BOSTON – A Chelsea man was charged today with conspiring to fraudulently issue identification documents and aggravated identify theft.

Leonel Sanchez, 52, was indicted in connection with a scheme to produce false identification documents. From December 2012 through January 2013, it is alleged that Sanchez bribed an employee of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in connection with a scheme to issue Massachusetts driver’s licenses to individuals who presented fraudulently obtained, but valid, Puerto Rican identification documents in identities other than their own.

This indictment is the most recent development in investigations involving identity theft and public corruption relating to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts States Police; David W. Hall, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Cheryl Garcia, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Regional Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.