A Maryland man admitted in federal court that he used dozens of stolen identities to get SNAP benefits, obtained multiple EBT cards and a passport under another person’s Social Security number, and sought to obstruct an investigation while detained.
Brendyn Andrew, 34, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, entered guilty pleas to every count in a 10-count superseding indictment that covers a string of federal crimes. The charges include SNAP benefits fraud, possession of unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, passport fraud, and witness tampering. The plea acknowledges the government’s allegations and sets the case on course for sentencing in federal court.
The original indictment came from a grand jury in February 2025 and listed aggravated identity theft, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits fraud, social security number misuse, and theft of government property. A superseding indictment in May 2025 expanded those allegations to include possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices, additional aggravated identity theft counts, passport fraud, and tampering with a witness, victim, or informant. A co-defendant, Dominique Collins, 38, of Stafford, Virginia, was charged in the superseding indictment for alleged witness tampering and is set for trial in April 2026.
The factual basis attached to Andrew’s plea says the fraud began in early 2021. Between February and June 2021, he allegedly used the Department of Human Services’ online system to apply for SNAP benefits and to obtain electronic benefit transfer cards in the names of other people. Authorities say he intentionally misrepresented his identity to secure benefits and later was found in possession of those cards.
During a search warrant in October 2022, law enforcement reportedly located more than 15 electronic benefit transfer cards in the names of individuals other than Andrew. Then in February 2024 he submitted a United States passport application in which he identified himself as another person and used that person’s Social Security number without legal authority. Prosecutors say Andrew obtained the passport for his own use, compounding the identity theft allegations with passport fraud.
The superseding indictment also alleges obstructive behavior that took place while Andrew was in custody. In March 2025, while detained at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore on the original indictment, he is accused of calling Collins and asking her to delete an e-mail account to make it unavailable for use in an official proceeding. That alleged request to delete evidence is the basis for the tampering charge listed against both him and Collins in the later indictment.
The potential penalties laid out in the charging documents are significant and cumulative. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years, which must run consecutively to any other prison term imposed. The filings also list up to five years for SNAP benefits fraud, up to five years for misuse of a Social Security number, up to 10 years for theft of government property, up to 10 years for possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, up to 15 years for passport fraud, and up to 20 years for tampering with a witness, victim, or informant.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the guilty plea along with Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General Northeast Region and Special Agent in Charge David Richeson of the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service Washington Field Office. The announcement thanked the Montgomery County Police Department for investigative assistance and named Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon as the prosecutor handling the matter. The case will proceed through the federal sentencing process while the co-defendant’s trial date remains scheduled for April 2026.
