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Middlesex District Attorney’s Office Receives Grant for Insurance Fraud Investigations

Posted on: January 9, 2014 - 3:32pm
Middlesex District Attorney’s Office Receives Grant for Insurance Fraud Investigations
Daniel Johnston, executive director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, presents the check to District Attorney Marian Ryan

WOBURN – The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, and in coordination with the Commissioner of Insurance, to fund investigations and prosecutions of insurance fraud, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced today.

The grant was presented to District Attorney Ryan by Daniel Johnston, executive director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.  The $50,000 grant is funded by Arbella Mutual Insurance Company, as part of a program in coordination with the Commissioner of Insurance and the Insurance Fraud Bureau which has been used to fund insurance fraud investigations across the state since 2003

“Our office has had a longstanding, productive partnership with the Insurance Fraud Bureau investigating and prosecuting those who commit insurance fraud,” said District Attorney Ryan.  “Insurance fraud and abuse of the system costs everyone money.  This financial support allows us to continue our work in this area.”

Just last month, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office indicted YongshuoQu, 45, of Medford and Hudson N.H., on 13 counts of insurance fraud for allegedly fraudulently billing insurance companies for services such as acupuncture and massages that he did not provide to his customers.  The case was investigated by the DA’s office and the Insurance Fraud Bureau.  In another recent joint investigation between the District Attorney and IFB, theMDAO indicted a former Burlington police officer on charges of falsifying prescriptions and making false disability claims.

District Attorney Ryan has formed the Special Investigations Unit to investigate cases of fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, white collar crimes and related illegal activity.  The Unit includes a team of Assistant District Attorneys, Financial Analysts, Forensic Examiners, Paralegals and State Police detectives.

The grant money received today will pay for continued investigations by prosecutors in the Special Investigations Unit of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and cover staff costs associated with the office’s role in the Community Insurance Fraud Initiative.

Middlesex County is the largest county in Massachusetts and one of the largest counties in the country with 54 towns and cities and 26 colleges in urban, suburban, and rural areas, comprising over one quarter of the population of Massachusetts.   The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office prosecutes more than 35,000 cases a year in nineteen superior, district and juvenile courts and has offices throughout the county, including in Ayer, Cambridge, Concord, Framingham, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Newton, Somerville, Waltham and Woburn.