- Office of the Inspector General
Media Contact for The Inspector General and Attorney General File Suit Against Three Former State Troopers to Recover Unearned Pay
Ellen Silberman
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) filed suit on March 14, 2022, against three former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) troopers to recoup over $44,000 they received for unworked overtime.
The complaint, filed in Boston Municipal Court, alleges Jeffrey Morrill, Raymond O’Neil and James Richardson falsely reported working certain overtime shifts as MSP troopers. The troopers were members of the MSP’s now-disbanded Troop E, which patrolled the Massachusetts Turnpike. The MSP had assigned the three former troopers state roadway patrol shifts to engage in high-visibility enforcement of state traffic laws. The suit alleges that in 2016 and 2017 the three troopers left some overtime shifts early and were not present at all for other shifts. Despite not working all or portions of the shifts, the former troopers submitted time records to the MSP requesting payment for the full shifts.
“These former troopers were paid with government funds to be on patrol to protect public safety,” Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha said. “They violated the public’s trust by failing to perform their duties, and they breached their oath to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth by claiming pay for time they didn’t work. Our lawsuit will hold these former troopers accountable.”
“State employees who falsely obtain taxpayer dollars and undermine public trust in our state agencies need to be held accountable,” said Attorney General Maura Healey. “Our office will continue to work closely with the IG’s Office to recover fraudulent overtime pay.”
This case is being handled by William Durkin, Director and Senior Counsel of Inspector General Cunha’s Civil Recovery Unit, with support from Division Chief Amy Crafts and Deputy Division Chief Christina Chan of Attorney General Healey’s False Claims Division.
Created in 2019, the Civil Recovery Unit pursues civil actions to recover public funds lost due to fraud, false claims and other wrongful conduct. It works closely with the AGO, the OIG’s other investigative units as well as other state agencies and local governments. The OIG operates a hotline for reporting fraud involving public funds or property at 800-322-1323 or IGO-FightFraud@mass.gov.
In 2015 AG Healey created the False Claims Division to safeguard public funds by enforcing high standards of integrity against companies and individuals that make false statements to obtain government contracts or funds. Anyone with information about suspected fraud or abuse relating to state or municipal contracts or funds is urged to contact the False Claims Division’s tip line at 617-963-2600.