Federal authorities arrested and charged 15 people for allegedly stealing $1.4 million in SNAP, Mass Health, disability, and unemployment benefits, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
The charges are a part of a string of government benefits fraud cases the office has started pursuing since December. Since then, they’ve charged more than 60 defendants in connection to $63 million in alleged fraud.
Although federal officials said they are proud of the work that’s been done in Massachusetts so far, they argued that access to state benefits data would streamline investigations and uncover more wrongdoing.
“It makes me very hopeful that we can actually make a difference,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said an interview with the Herald after the announcement.
“We have buy-in from all of our law enforcement partners and everyone is on the same page,” Foley said, though…
Insurance fraud involves making false or exaggerated claims to an insurance provider.
- Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately causes a loss (e.g., setting fire to a warehouse or staging a car accident) specifically to collect a payout.
- Soft Fraud: More common and often viewed as “victimless” by the perpetrator. It involves exaggerating a legitimate claim, such as overstating the value of stolen items in a home burglary to cover the deductible.