Canadian Man Sentenced to 3½ Years for Benefit Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert Jerome Bond, 47, recently of Gardiner, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 1½ years in prison for theft of public money and an additional two years for aggravated identity theft.  He was also ordered to pay $5,923 in restitution.  The defendant pled guilty on October 8, 2015.

According to court records, on about January 19, 2011, Bond applied for and was granted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) benefits using the name of an actual U.S. citizen. SNAP offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals. Bond, a Canadian citizen, was not eligible for SNAP benefits at the time of the application and improperly received over $5,900 in SNAP benefits. 

The benefit fraud was discovered when the real owner of Bond’s assumed identity applied for benefits in another state.  That application led to an investigation by the Office of the Maine Attorney General that Judge Woodcock described as “most impressive.”  It revealed Bond’s true name and citizenship and his 20-year-history of criminal activity under false identities.  Judge Woodcock pointed out that the use of those false identities helped Bond avoid detection and deportation.

In imposing sentence, Judge Woodcock said that Bond had “cynically betrayed the trust of the people of this country” and told the defendant that “when you return to Canada after your prison sentence, you will leave behind in this country countless victims of the crimes you have committed.” 

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Office of the Maine Attorney General, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.