A Hartford man is accused of stealing the identity of a California resident and using his social security number to illegally collect more than $37,000 in unemployment benefits.
Ignacio Sotelo-Bustos, 30, of Brown Street in Hartford, is charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, felony unemployment compensation fraud and first-degree identity theft.
According to the state Department of Criminal Justice, Sotelo-Bustos stole the social security number of a California man and used it to collect $37,270 in unemployment benefits between Jan. 2009 and Feb. 2011, when he was not legally authorized to work in the U.S.
He was arrested by the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit and released on $10,000 bond.
Sotelo-Bustos is due in court July 10.
If convicted, he could spend a total of up to 25 years in prison and pay a fine of more than $20,000.
