Nashua Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining Food Stamps and Medicaid Benefits

            CONCORD – Kaylie Esquivel Arizmendi, 32, of Nashua, pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, Arizmendi was receiving Supplemental Nutritional Agricultural (SNAP) benefits, better known as food stamps, and Medicaid benefits.  In New Hampshire, the state Department of Health and Human Services administers the food stamp and Medicaid programs.  Because eligibility is tied to household resources, applicants are required to provide truthful information to the state and timely notify the state if their household’s composition or income changes.

            Arizmendi married her spouse in February 2015.  On March 3, 2015, she applied to the Department of Health and Human Services for food stamps and Medicaid benefits.  She claimed under penalty of perjury that she was unmarried.  Between March 2015 and November 2020, Arizmendi continued to falsely represent to the state that she was unmarried and claimed she and her spouse had no personal relationship to one another.  For example, she provided a fraudulent “Rental Verification Request” identifying her spouse as a “Landlord, Manager or Housing Official.” 

            If Arizmendi truthfully disclosed her marital status, her spouse’s income would have reduced her eligibility for benefits.  In total, Arizmendi obtained $64,401 in food stamps and Medicaid benefits she was not entitled to receive.

            Arizmendi is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2023.

            This matter was investigated by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen.

###