BOSTON (SHNS) – A bureau charged with investigating public assistance fraud allegations identified fraud in 14 percent of the cases it examined between January and March.
Examiners at the Bureau of Special Investigations uncovered more than $4 million worth of fraud over the three-month period, including $1.6 million in Medicaid fraud and $1.3 million in fraud connected to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Auditor Diana DiZoglio, whose office runs the bureau, informed legislators of the fiscal 2023 third quarter numbers in a May 23 letter that was posted last week to the Legislature’s website. The bureau identified fraud in 200 of the 1,407 cases it investigated.
The bureau’s investigative authority extends to any assistance program administered by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Division of Medical Assistance, which administers MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program).
The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is not included in BSI’s enabling statute, but the bureau works with the department through a memorandum of understanding.
The bureau said its fraud cases are referred to agencies for administrative actions and that “fraudulent overpayments are recovered through civil agreements, individuals are disqualified from programs for specified periods of time, and cases are prosecuted in state and federal courts.”