Identity Theft/Fraud

A former resident of Lawrence, Mass., who was living under a false identity, was sentenced in Boston on charges arising from his use of the stolen name and Social Security number belonging to another U.S. citizen. An individual referred to as “John Doe,” was...

A North Providence, R.I., man and his co-conspirators were sentenced to prison for 30 months for conspiring to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. They were involved in an automobile warranty fraud scheme that caused a loss of more than $385,352.19 to a...

A former employee of the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges arising from her claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funds. (It’s hard not to acknowledge the irony.)   Tiffany Pacheco, 35, formerly of New Bedford, pleaded...

“Operation Devil’s Highway” focused on putting a stop to drug distribution in Lawrence, Mass., and drug trafficking between the city and the State of New Hampshire. The investigation, which involved more than two dozen law enforcement agencies, resulted in federal drug charges against 40...

The Helping Hands Academy in Connecticut was supposed to provide applied behavior analysis for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Instead, the business owner and a phony “behavior analyst” conspired to defraud Medicaid (while victimizing families and patients with subpar services). Medicaid requires that...

Two Maryland women have been sentenced after committing Medicaid fraud. Sasha Saunders, 42, and Diane Jordan, 48, were found guilty of billing Medicaid using stolen identities.    Saunders worked as the founder and president of two mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. Jordan was the vice president of the same companies – Changing Directions, Inc. and HEAL Inc. (Perhaps the women should have tried...

Many people enjoy vacationing in a charming beach town. Most of those vacationers save up for a trip or bite the bullet and run up the credit card a bit to foot the bill. Lauren Houck, of Abingdon, Md., decided that using someone else’s...

Punishment for identity theft fraud is no joke, and definitely not during a pandemic. Emilee Fenton and Dalton Brewer, both 24, of Gilmer, Tex., are each facing up to 15 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit identity theft related to COVID economic...

Online banking customers enjoy instant access to their account balances from their computers and mobile devices. Checking account balances, reviewing transactions, paying bills and easily transferring money between accounts is a nice perk of the service. A Sandy Springs, Ga., man used his online...

Oh, how we all long for summer vacation, or any vacation for that matter, especially after a very long year of being stuck inside due to a pandemic. Back in the day when you could travel anywhere without the fear of catching a deadly...