RI Couple Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud U.S. Government of Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

RI Couple Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud U.S. Government of Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

A Rhode Island couple has pled guilty to participating in a  scheme to defraud the U.S. Government of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federally-funded benefits over a period of more than 20 years, announced U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman on Tuesday.

Lens Chappell, a/k/a Carter Jefferson, 71, and his wife, Mulin Alexandre, a/k/a Kesa Pittman and later Kesa Jefferson, 40, admitted they jointly participated in schemes to fraudulently obtain government documents, state Medicaid, as well as federally-funded U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S Health and Human Services (HHS) and Social Security benefits dating back to at least 1998.

Both will be sentenced on December 4, 2019.

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The Investigation

According to court documents, beginning in 1998, Chappell took on a relative’s identity and used that identity and a stolen identity to identify his wife in order to obtain government documents, including passports.

Chappell arranged for Alexandre to come from her native Haiti to the United States unlawfully, changing her identity to Kesa Pittman and later Kesa Jefferson.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the pair used the fraudulent identities to obtain state Medicaid benefits and federally-funded benefits from HUD, HHS, and Social Security. 

According to information presented to the Court, from 1998 to 2014, it is alleged that the Providence couple fraudulently received an estimated $450,000 in federally-funded benefits they were not entitled to receive.