Massachusetts state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office has uncovered another $4.4 million in public benefits fraud, including $2.4 million in SNAP fraud, $1.7 million in MassHealth and Medicaid fraud and more ranging between July 1st and December 31st — the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2026.
The state Auditor’s Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) investigated a total of 1,847 cases, including overpayment calculations in 317 cases with identified fraud. The Herald reported last month how Massachusetts recorded one of the worst SNAP payment error rates in the country at 14.1% in FY24, or $364 million in erred payments that year out of $2.6 billion federally funded program.
“Fraud affects everyday Massachusetts residents who depend on these programs to obtain healthcare or put food on the table,” DiZoglio said in a written statement. “This makes the work of our fraud examiners essential in ensuring programs operate efficiently, reliably, and as intended for those who truly need them.”
In this latest report, BSI uncovered a grand total of $4,486,102 in public benefits fraud, including $2,482,378 in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); $1,717,084 in the MassHealth and Medicaid programs; $144,664 in Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), $88,962 in Personal Care Attenant (PCA) funds; $30,572 in Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC) funds; and $22,442 in the Department of Early Education & Care (EEC).
Operating as a division within the Office of the State Auditor, the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) is charged with investigating allegations of public assistance fraud throughout the Commonwealth. BSI fraud examiners help ensure taxpayer dollars used to fund Massachusetts’ public benefits programs are managed effectively so that programs are available to residents who truly need them,” DiZoglio’s office said in its report.
The Auditor’s office says that in the first quarter of FY26, which ranges between July 1, 2025 and Sept. 30, 2025, BSI investigated a total of 934 cases that included overpayments in 149 cases with identified fraud. In the second quarter of the fiscal year, the BSI investigated 913 total cases with overpayments in 168 cases with identified fraud.
The report comes after the Herald reported last month claims by a whistleblower working in the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), who detailed “rampant” fraud within the state’s SNAP-EBT program, dating an extreme uptick in fraud cases back to 2021 during the surge in illegal immigration under the Biden administration. They also noted several concerns with DTA upper management and leadership, including setting a “tone of normalcy” surrounding drastic increases in fraud throughout the state and “in spite of intermittent outcries from staff.”
It also follows several SNAP and other public benefits fraud busts in Massachusetts totaling tens of millions of dollars by the U.S. Attorney’s Officee.
Out of the $4.4 million in public benefits fraud uncovered during the first two quarters of FY26, the Auditor’s office says it was only able to reclaim $392,713 in civil recoveries for victims.
DiZoglio has sent the report in a letter Friday to the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, as well as both House and Senate Clerks.
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