Lately we’ve seen a few more examples of why it’s crucial for businesses and governmental organizations to review and buttress their online security systems and internal accounting controls.
Fraud artists in Massachusetts siphoned off a whopping $6,139,720 in public benefits last fiscal year, according to a newly released report from State Auditor Suzanne Bump.
While in the private sector, a Massachusetts scammer who defrauded victims of almost $1 million by both breaching company email systems to divert funds and romantically manipulating women into helping him was recently sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
“While fraud represents a small portion of total public assistance spending, it has a disproportionate negative impact on public trust in these programs,” Bump said.
That’s unequivocally the case and a slap in the face to hardworking state taxpayers.
MassHealth, which, minus federal reimbursement, accounted for 22% of the fiscal 2022 state budget, took the biggest hit, with 56% of the losses, more than $3.4 million.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was also high, with 31% of the losses, or over $ 1.9 million. And at 34%, SNAP also had the largest share of cases.
Bristol County, the sixth-most populous of the state’s 14 counties, had the highest incidents of fraud, with 555, including 111 cases of employment fraud and 116 cases of personal care attendant fraud. Hampden County, the eighth-most populous county but one of the poorest,…
