Irish national pleads guilty to misuse of Social Security number

BOSTON – An Irish citizen living in Marlborough, Massachusetts pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of misuse of a Social Security number. The plea follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

On March 20, 2013, Francis J. Moloney,  fraudulently obtained a driver’s license using the identity and Social Security number of an Irish national and former permanent legal resident, after that person renounced his legal status in the United States and returned to Ireland.

The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Matthew Etre, special agent in charge of HSI Boston; David W. Hall, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Scott Antolik, special agent in charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit.