Welfare Fraud In Massachusetts

Introduction

The most common types of welfare fraud include failing to report additional income, failure to disclose information regarding household family members, or supplying false information about an inability to work. There have also been instances were people feigned illness or injury to manipulate the welfare system. it is a rediculous thing. people who would sit on their asses and steal from the working people. it happens all the time and it needs to stop! although it is not technically considered fraud getting pregnant just to collect welfare is also another form of "cheating the system" and unfortunately happens far too often(Green: 154).

Two Massachusetts lottery winners have been accused of collecting welfare benefits. Massachusetts is charging James Casey Jr. of Waltham, Mass., and Frank Basile of Belmont, Mass., with larceny and fraud, the Associated Press and the Boston Globe report.

Casey is accused of collecting $14,000 in MassHealth benefits and food stamps after winning more than $700,000 from the lottery since 2009, and Basile is accused of also collecting MassHealth benefits while winning more than $316,000 in lottery tickets, according to the Boston Globe. Massachusetts officials believe that their lottery winnings also are a fraud. They say that Casey and Basile are among fraudulent lottery winners that cash in others' winning lottery tickets and keep 10 percent of the money to help the actual winners avoid taxes or child support, according to the Boston Globe. A Michigan woman also has been accused of collecting welfare benefits after winning the lottery. Amanda Clayton was arraigned in a Michigan district court in April for allegedly receiving $200 per month in food stamps after winning $700,000 from the lottery.

Massachusetts is known for their taxes and entitlement programs run amok - the program garnering most attention lately is the EBT card, which replaced traditional Food Stamps. The fraud and abuse has been fodder for news reports, and blight on the Commonwealth's program. It is not so much that Massachusetts taxpayers would not lend a helping hand to those in need, however, this program has taken abuse to the level of the GSA (CNN), and residents have grown weary of being overtaxed, overextended, underemployed and abused by those taking advantage of the system. On need only “Google” EBT Fraud in Massachusetts” to come up with a bevy of reference such as the 53 In EBT Cards for Cash Fraud reported in the Eagle Tribune.

Discussion

Pat Lu, 48, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and fraud after police raided his Quincy, Mass. mini-mart and said he was personally skimming $30,000 per month from the federal government's food-stamp debit card system. Bail was set at $100,000(Freiberg: 213-236).

According to a report from NECN-TV, Lu was the ringleader of a complex scheme involving at least 53 suspects engaged in welfare fraud that has netted $700,000 in the past year and a half.

Police said customers would come into Lu's store with debit cards they had received as part of the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Lu would swipe the card, ring up a phony ...