- Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
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Jillian Fennimore
Boston — Four individuals have been charged in connection with fraudulently collecting a combined total of over $79,000 in unemployment benefits from the state, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
These cases are the result of investigations referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Department of Unemployment Assistance (EOLWD\DUA).
“We allege that these defendants unlawfully collected unemployment benefits from the state, taking away funds from those who need it,” said AG Healey. “Our office is committed to investigating and prosecuting these crimes to deter fraud and return money back to the state."
“If we turn a blind eye to abuse and fraud like this, we won’t have funds for those who truly deserve benefits,” said DUA Director Robert Cunningham. “We are charged with protecting the integrity of the UI Trust Fund, and with the help of the AG’s office, we work aggressively to end this unlawful behavior and punish those we catch committing fraud.”
A Suffolk County Grand Jury returned indictments against the first three defendants today. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Feb. 19. A separate district court complaint was taken out against the remaining defendant. She will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Feb. 18. They are charged as follows:
ADAM J. ZALGENAS
Adam J. Zalgenas, 39, of Wareham, is charged with Unemployment Fraud (33 counts) and Larceny over $250 (one count).
An investigation by the AG’s Office and the DUA revealed that Zalgenas worked at and received a salary from TruGreen as a landscaper and groundskeeper while receiving unemployment benefits. Authorities allege that Zalgenas did not report any of his earnings to the DUA and certified that he did not work and had no earnings for a total of 33 weeks. As a result, Zalgenas fraudulently collected $22,352 in overpayments from the DUA.
ISAASHA GREENIDGE
Isaasha Greenidge, 34, of Dorchester, is charged with Unemployment Fraud (130 counts) and Larceny over $250 (four counts).
Authorities allege that Greenidge fraudulently collected weekly unemployment benefits from the DUA for 130 weeks from February 2010 until January 2013, while at the same time working at the Shaw’s Supermarket in Belmont and at Sila Heating and Air Conditioning in Stoneham. Greenidge told the DUA that he was not working during this period. An investigation by the DUA revealed that while Greenidge collected over $22,700 in unemployment benefits, he earned over $38,600 from Shaw’s and $4,700 from Sila.
RYAN L. CLARK
Ryan L. Clark, 38, of Worcester, is charged with Unemployment Fraud (23 counts) and Larceny over $250 (one count).
According to authorities, Clark fraudulently collected $15,617 in unemployment benefits from the DUA from November 2012 through May 2014, while he was earning $28,000 working full-time as a carpenter at the Burlington-based W.J. Mosk. Clark told the DUA that he was not working during this time period.
JOAQUINA REYNOSO
A complaint was also taken out in Boston Municipal Court against Joaquina Reynoso, 58, of Lawrence. She is charged with Unemployment Fraud (77 counts) and Larceny over $250 (one count).
According to authorities, Reynoso collected $22,835 in unemployment benefits from the DUA from May 2012 through December 2013. An investigation by the DUA and the AG’s Office revealed that Reynoso had underreported her earnings from Marshall’s to the DUA and as a result she received unemployment benefits that she was not entitled to in the amount of $18,482.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Geoffrey Wood and Anuj Khetarpal of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit with assistance from Investigators Kimberly Medeiros and John Keating also of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit and Joshua Nussey of the Department of Unemployment Assistance in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
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