Massachusetts

Nicole Kasimatis got caught the first time she committed fraud. So, she tried again. And again. She tried four times to be exact. Kasimatis was first indicted in 2015 and 2018 for public assistance fraud, larceny, document forgery and uttering a false money order....

Some fraudsters make a habit out of stealing from only one type of government benefits program. Others find success with one type of fraud and replicate their scheme to siphon off even more taxpayer dollars from another government program. Maribel Rodriguez, 63 of Marlboro,...

Andrea Perez Placencia, 59, of Springfield, Mass., is like many fraudsters who have success with government benefits fraud. They typically branch out and try to steal benefits from other government programs to throw investigators off their trail. (Except in today’s case, Perez Placencia didn’t...

What’s worse than standing in line at the DMV? Getting arrested at one. A Dominican national has been sentenced for using the identity of a U.S. citizen at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. (I’m sure that will qualify as his most memorable trip...

There are different types of liars. Pathological liars lie constantly to get their way. Compulsive liars lie out of habit. It’s hard to tell which kind of liar Donna Wasson, 37, of San Antonio, Tex. was, perhaps a little bit of both. She concocted...

A “Black Box” warning is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) strictest warning for drugs and medical devices on the market. They alert the public and healthcare providers to serious side effects such as injury or death. (Examples include warnings about smoking on...

In a short period of time COVID-19 has certainly left an impression on all of us – one we will not likely forget anytime soon. Similarly, while a fraudulent crime can reap lots of money over a short period of time, the repercussions are...

There are a few ways to make money and not work. You could try out your luck in Las Vegas or play the lottery (although it is unlikely that you will win big), be independently wealthy, or collect unemployment. That’s what Daniel Maleus, 33,...

Can you imagine what it feels like to cash $3.3 million in checks? Argyrios “Eric” Mavros, 57, knows what that feels like. And he knows what if feels like to plead guilty to tax fraud and workers compensation fraud. (That’s probably not a feeling...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In 2020, the Insurance Information Institute noted that approximately 1,660 Puerto Ricans alone had their identity stolen. (In one year, mind you.) One of those...