Martin Santiago, 49, of Haverhill, was arrested in June 2015 for allegedly allowing customers in his Lawrence stories to exchange their food-stamp benefits for cash and pocketing the fees the stores would charge for the service. Officials alleged that Santiago and his co-conspirators defrauded the government of $1.5 million before being caught, State Police said in a statement.

A man accused of food stamp fraud and laundering $1.5 million removed his ankle bracelet and fled Thursday morning, the day his trial was about to start, according to State Police

He was released on condition that he pay $75,000 bail and wear a monitoring ankle bracelet, according to the statement


Santiago was scheduled to appear Thursday morning in Essex Superior Court, but when he never showed up investigators discovered that he forcibly removed the bracelet about 6 a.m. before fleeing, police said.

Santiago has black hair and brown eyes, is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds. He is from the Dominican Republic, speaks fluent Spanish, and has gone by the name Mark Santiago in the past, police said.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 1-800-527-8873.

Andrew Grant can be reached at andrew.grant@globe.com.