I-Team: Rhode Island Man Faces Criminal Charges For Mass. Welfare Fraud
BOSTON (CBS) -- A Rhode Island man is accused of illegally collecting welfare benefits from Massachusetts while living out of state.
The development comes after an I-Team investigation, which uncovered documents showing Paul Hession had been living in Rhode Island for several years.
Hession, 45, of Cranston, R.I. will be arraigned on April 6 in Attleboro District Court.
A criminal complaint the I-Team obtained shows he faces charges for larceny, public assistance fraud, and making a false statement to get medical assistance.
It's alleged Hession collected almost 54,000 in taxpayer-funded benefits from MassHealth and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) over a three-year period.
Attleboro resident Stephen Gainer started receiving mail addressed to Hession last year. Gainer had owned the home for seven years.
Despite several calls to the Fraud Hotline, Gainer claimed the suspicious mail kept showing up at his house. That is when Gainer decided to contact the I-Team.
After the story, the case was referred to the Bureau of Special Investigations in the Office of the State Auditor.
Last year, the investigative unit identified $13.7 million in public benefits fraud.
Ryan Kath can be reached at rkath@cbs.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.