BOSTON — A Gardner man has been charged in federal court in connection with the alleged theft of nearly $988,000 in government funds as part of a broader investigation into stolen U.S. Treasury tax refund checks in eastern and central Massachusetts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Victor Vasquez, 40, of Gardner, was charged by complaint with theft of government funds. Vasquez was arrested on Thursday, April 9, 2026, and released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston.
Federal prosecutors allege that in June 2024, Vasquez deposited a U.S. Treasury check for $988,744 that had been issued to another taxpayer but altered to list Vasquez as the payee. Vasquez allegedly deposited the check into a credit union account in the name of Victor Northeast Construction, LLC, a business prosecutors said Vasquez had closed years earlier. It is further alleged that shortly after depositing the check, Vasquez transferred $8,000 to another bank account he controlled in order to pay outstanding loan balances.
According to the charging documents, when the credit union contacted Vasquez by phone and asked about the source of the money, he allegedly claimed the check was a tax refund for his business. Prosecutors said that claim was false because the business had not yet been incorporated during the tax year associated with the check and no tax return had been filed on its behalf.
Vasquez is the ninth defendant charged in an ongoing investigation into the theft of U.S. Treasury tax refund checks in Massachusetts. In June 2025, eight other defendants were charged with theft of government funds or bank fraud connected to about $8.8 million in stolen Treasury checks, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The charge of theft of government funds carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Frauds Unit.