OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERALPress Releases
Bronx Pair Indicted for Stealing Over $500k in Unemployment Insurance Benefits During Pandemic Using Stolen Identities
June 17, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General
BRONX PAIR INDICTED FOR STEALING OVER $500K IN UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS DURING PANDEMIC USING STOLEN IDENTITIES
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that two Bronx people have been indicted for Grand Larceny and Identity Theft for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Insurance program using false identities.
District Attorney Clark said, “These defendants allegedly stole identities of innocent people and then fraudulently obtained federal benefits meant for those out of work due to COVID-19 pandemic crisis. They allegedly stole $500,000 from the program over two years. Now they are held accountable for their alleged actions.”
Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, said, “These individuals allegedly exploited Pandemic Unemployment Insurance benefits, a critical lifeline intended to support American workers during a national crisis. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar stolen from honest, hardworking Americans. The Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General will not tolerate this theft. We remain committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to combat this criminal activity and hunt down every last fraudster who thought they could game the system.”
Roberta Reardon, New York State Department of Labor Commissioner, said, “The New York State Department of Labor is committed to fighting Unemployment Insurance fraud to protect workers and ensure these benefits are rightfully paid to those who rely on them. I am grateful to our partners at the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement for their tireless efforts to pursue justice and safeguard this critical safety net.”
Pete Gizas, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Special Agent in Charge, said, "By allegedly stealing the identities of unsuspecting victims and diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic unemployment benefits, these defendants are accused of exploiting programs meant to support honest workers and families in their time of greatest need. HSI is firmly committed to working in coordination with our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to uncover and dismantle the fraud schemes that prey on our communities and threaten the financial well-being of our neighbors."
District Attorney Clark said Moses Santiago, 30, of 301 East 149th Street, Bronx, and Diamond Bonaparte, 31, of 547 East 178th Street, Bronx, were arraigned on June 16, 2026, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela A. Goldsmith on second-degree Grand Larceny and 13 counts of Identity Theft for each defendant. Santiago is due back in court on September 10, 2026, and Bonaparte is due back on August 17, 2026.
According to the investigation by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), and the Bronx DA’s Financial Frauds Bureau, from April 2020 into April 2022, the defendants acting in concert fraudulently used stolen identities of 13 people to obtain unemployment insurance benefits. The defendants allegedly presented the identities falsely on the NYSDOL website as legitimate applicants for benefits, and obtained over $500,000, through NYSDOL-issued bank accounts created in the names of the identity theft victims.
The defendants transferred the bank funds into Cashapp accounts they controlled and purchased consumer goods and travel. With the assistance of investigators and auditors at NYSDOL and USDOL Office of the Inspector General, the 13 identity theft victims were located and interviewed.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Pfetsch of the Financial Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Eugene Bykov, Supervisor of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Pia Freedman, Supervisor of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Michelle Milanes, Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Herman Wun, Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Denise Kodjo, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, Chief of the Investigations Division. District Attorney Clark thanked Trial Preparation Assistants Diane Morgan and Cindy Sinani, Intelligence Analyst Aryeh Halevy, Principal Accountant Investigator James Antonino, and NYPD Detective Daniel Angen of the Bronx DA Squad for and for their assistance with this investigation.
District Attorney Clark thanked the New York State Department of Labor, in particular, Investigative Officers Kerry Sukhnandan and William Dutton, of the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations, as well as Special Agents Raymond Ramirez and Leslie Briccetti of the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Homeland Security Task Force Financial Division for their invaluable assistance with this investigation.
For additional information on DOL OIG, please visit oig.dol.gov. If you suspect wrongdoing involving DOL programs or operations, contact the DOL-OIG Hotline at (800) 347-3756 or oig.dol.gov/hotlinecontact.htm.
Source: Bronx County District Attorney.
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