'Serial fraudster' sentenced: Hampton man gets 7 years for $2M identity fraud schemes

HAMPTON — A local man will spend the next seven years in prison for stealing more than a million dollars in four schemes — including one where he filed fake unemployment claims in two states on behalf of 54 people.

Anthony Silva, 39, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In addition to the prison term, Silva was ordered to pay restitution and forfeit funds held at Citizens Bank, Stride Bank, Fidelity, Green Dot, PNC Bank, Bancorp, and TD Bank totaling approximately $830,000.

“The defendant is a serial fraudster who used dozens of stolen identities to enrich himself,” said U.S. Jane Attorney Young, in a press release.  “He did not merely steal funds from state and federal governments. Rather, he fleeced pools of funds which were designed specifically to serve as a lifeline to millions of Americans during the worst public health crisis in a century."

Silva was indicted on Dec. 20, 2023 by a federal grand jury on 10 counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and eight counts of aggravated identity theft. The indictments superseded previous ones filed against him in 2022.

Silva had initially pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $700,000 for two schemes on Nov. 7, 2022, but withdrew his plea in March, citing "ineffective assistance of counsel."

Prosecutors: Silva stole more than $2 million in four schemes

According to the indictments and statements made in court, Silva orchestrated four separate fraud schemes using stolen identities.

Prosecutors said Silva used stolen names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and other identifiers to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits from Vermont and Massachusetts, which were enhanced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to prosecutors, Silva allegedly obtained more than $400,000 from Vermont and over $150,000 from Massachusetts, which they say was "one of the largest unemployment insurance thefts in New Hampshire history."

Silva is also accused of allegedly obtaining CARES Act funds for $600,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration and trying unsuccessfully to obtain $1.35 million more.

The fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and CARES Act funds were deposited either by check or direct deposit into dozens of accounts Silva controlled at multiple banks, according to prosecutors.

According to court documents, he deposited those checks into one of 32 different trust accounts, which were in the names of purported charitable causes. The names of the trusts included Peaceful Protesters Bail Fund Trust, Trans Diversity Alliance Trust, Resist Trumpism Trust and BLM New England Trust, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Silva also stole the personal identifying information of 12 victims — including their names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth — to apply for 15 different credit cards from American Express. Court documents allege he used the credit cards to make $59,684.14 in purchases at Walmart, Victoria's Secret and Home Depot, where he was recorded on store security footage making some of the purchases, according to prosecutors.

Silva's guilty plea and sentencing were part of a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges against him.

Had the case gone to trial, Silva faced a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud and mail fraud charges. The charge of aggravated identity theft called for a mandatory sentence of 2 years to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General and Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kennedy.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'Serial fraudster' in NH gets 7 years in prison for $2M fraud schemes