Press Release  AG's Office Secures Indictments Against Northampton Resident for Causing More Than $99,000 in False Claims to MassHealth

NORTHAMPTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) today announced that the Statewide Grand Jury has returned two indictments against Medford Boston Sr., 76, of Northampton, for fraudulently submitting timesheets to MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, for personal care attendant (PCA) services that were never provided, which resulted in MassHealth paying more than $99,000. Boston was indicted on one count of Medicaid False Claims and one count of Larceny over $1,200.   

MassHealth’s PCA program helps individuals with chronic or long-term disabilities live independently in their community by providing medically necessary physical assistance with personal care needs. Through the PCA program, eligible MassHealth members employ PCAs to assist them with their activities of daily living. These services are paid for by MassHealth through a fiscal intermediary. Members are required to select PCAs who can physically perform these tasks and are responsible for submitting accurate timesheets for the authorized services provided. 

Boston was eligible for PCA services through MassHealth, but according to an investigation by the AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Division, listed his 95-year-old mother as his PCA for certain periods of time despite her not physically being able to assist him with the services he claimed he needed. For other periods of time, Boston listed his son as his PCA, even though his son has lived in Pennsylvania since 2000 and was actively receiving unemployment benefits there.  

This matter is representative of the AGO’s commitment to rooting out fraud and abuse in the PCA program. In June 2025, a personal care attendant pleaded guilty and was given a state prison sentence for submitting claims for PCA services he never provided. Also in June, the AGO secured a guilty plea resulting in a two-year suspended prison sentence from a MassHealth member who conspired with two of her PCAs to cause the submission of false claims to MassHealth for services that were never provided, were medically unnecessary, and/or were the result of kickbacks. 

 These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  

 This case was investigated and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Joanna Staley and Investigator Fatima Tanveer, of the AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Division. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and MassHealth provided substantial assistance with the investigation. 

The AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Division is a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, annually certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate and prosecute health care providers who defraud the state’s Medicaid program, MassHealth. The Medicaid Fraud Division also has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute complaints of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of residents in long-term care facilities and of Medicaid patients in any health care setting. Individuals may file a MassHealth fraud complaint or report cases of abuse or neglect of Medicaid patients or long-term care residents by visiting the AGO’s website.    

The Massachusetts Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,922,320 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,974,102 for FY 2025, is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

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