“Operation Double Trouble” Nets Indictments for 28 Defendants Charged with Document & Benefit Fraud
In March 2017, as a member of the Homeland Security Investigation’s Document Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), BSI began an investigation into over 110 instances of identification documents used by different people to obtain Medicaid benefits in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts. In some cases, individuals using the same identity presented for medical services on the same day in both jurisdictions, which are 1,600 miles apart. On July 26, 2018, 28 individuals were indicted on multiple charges of document and benefit fraud by a federal grand jury. A BSI Senior Fraud Examiner worked on the DBFTF and testified before the grand jury.
The joint investigation found that 22 of the 28 defendants were not lawfully present in the United States, and that all 28 defendants received MassHealth benefits they were not entitled to. Federal charges include aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 USC 1028(A)(a)(1), false representation of a Social Security number in violation of 42 USC 408(a)(7)(B), and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl in violation of 21 USC 841(a)(1). All of these indictments are in various stages of prosecution in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
| Date published: | December 19, 2018 |
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