BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)– A New Jersey man was sentenced in an identity fraud case in Massachusetts.

Jose Irizarry, 46, of Union City, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and false representation of a Social Security number in January.

According to prosecutors, between October 2017 and January 2019, Irizarry visited Massachusetts car dealerships to purchase late-model vehicles and applied for 100% financing. Irizarry provided stolen biographical information of real United States citizens, fraudulent Puerto Rico driver’s licenses and Social Security cards in those identities, as proof of identification when filling out applications.

He used the stolen identities to illegally open bank accounts and credit cards and purchase vehicles, many of which were exported out of the United States. Irizarry used stolen identities to obtain car loans and purchase three cars worth $140,124, collectively, although at sentencing he was held responsible for losses of between $550,000 and $1.5 million. 

Irizarry and multiple co-defendants were charged by criminal complaint in September 2020 and indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020 in the conspiracy.

In a coordinated multi-jurisdictional effort, Irizarry was also charged in the State of New Jersey.