Massachusetts Man Indicted for $45K Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Salem, Mass., man was indicted in connection with a scheme to set up a shell company to fraudulently collect benefits under a long-term care insurance policy, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced.

Benjamin Johnson, 47, was indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury for one count of larceny of more than $250 by false pretenses and one count of making a fraudulent insurance claim. He will be arraigned in Essex Superior Court at a later date.

The Attorney General’s Office alleges that between March 2016 and January 2017, Johnson operated a shell home health care company called White Shores Home Health. Using this company, Johnson collected money from John Hancock Life Insurance Company by billing them for treatment not rendered under his father’s long-term care insurance policy.

Johnson allegedly stole more than $45,000 by claiming he was his father’s health care aide, when in fact he failed to provide care to his father.

These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Johnson was previously indicted in 2018 on charges in connection with elder abuse of his father. That case is pending before Essex Superior Court and is being prosecuted by the Essex District Attorney’s Office.

Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers, including the state’s unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems.

Source: Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General

Topics Fraud Massachusetts