A 66-year-old man who falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen living in Chula Vista has pleaded guilty to stealing $360,872 in government benefits from 1988 to 2016.
Andres Avelino Anduaga, who actually lived in Tijuana before his arrest, has agreed to make full restitution to the Social Security Administration, San Diego County, and the state Department of Health Care Services. He is a citizen of Mexico.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Andrew Schopler set sentencing for May 29. Anduaga remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego without bail.
He also pleaded guilty to being a removed alien who was earlier deported. The maximum sentence is 12 years in federal prison and a $900,000 fine.
“The programs that this defendant stole from—for decades—provide benefits to America’s most needy,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman, who said the prosecution showed it would punish “those who prey on the goodwill of our nation and its taxpayers.”
Anduaga took on the identity of an American citizen in 1980 and used the victim’s birth certificate to apply for a Social Security number and later disability benefits. In 2014, the Social Security administration received a potential fraud referral in Chula Vista regarding Anduaga, according to court records.
Anduaga, who identified himself as Abraham Riojos, attended a personal interview on Nov. 10, 2015 at the Social Security administration offices in Chula Vista. Anduaga said he lived in Chula Vista and gave his landlord’s name. That landlord confirmed Anduaga lived there as Riojos in a telephone interview, but when interviewed in person, he said Anduaga lived in Mexico.
The investigation uncovered three other aliases including a time when Anduaga said his name was Jose Reyes and had been deported under that name in 2000. Reyes had been convicted twice in Bakersfield of misdemeanor drunk driving and forgery in the 1970s, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
The real Abraham Riojos lived in Florida and had no idea why Anduaga used his name. Anduaga used a different Social Security number than Riojos, who had never claimed any benefits. Anduaga also claimed to have lived in San Isidro earlier, but that address turned out to be a personal mailbox rental facility.
Court records said Anduaga received $244,441 in disability insurance and SSI benefits. He also received $104,431 in Medi-Cal benefits from the state. He collected $12,000 in food stamp benefits in San Diego County.
