Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced on Mar. 26 the formation of a new Benefit and Voter Fraud Team to address widespread fraud in Massachusetts, including cases involving SNAP, MassHealth, childcare subsidies, and voter fraud.
The initiative comes as officials report an increase in benefit fraud across the state, prompting the creation of a dedicated hotline for public tips at 1-855-SCAM-MA-1 (855-722-6621). The effort is intended to support ongoing federal anti-fraud measures and coordinate with both national and regional agencies.
Foley named Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Mallard and Mark Grady as coordinators for the team. Mallard will oversee district-wide efforts by working with multiple federal agencies to identify fraudulent activity, while Grady will supervise investigations and prosecutions within the office. "Both Phil and Mark are seasoned federal prosecutors who each bring tremendous assets to the Fraud Team. With a combined 40+ years of prosecutorial experience, they will hit the ground running and make a lasting impact on the widespread and prolific benefit fraud we are seeing across the state," said Foley.
Mallard has previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in Essex County focusing on gangs, murders, and various types of fraud before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit in 2018. Grady is Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit with experience handling immigration, child exploitation, violent crime, public corruption cases, as well as several types of benefit fraud.
Since December 2025, Foley's office has charged 15 individuals with nearly $9 million in alleged fraudulent activities related to benefits programs such as SNAP and MassHealth. "It has become apparent that there are insufficient guardrails in place in Massachusetts to address the rampant benefit fraud across the state. It is time to hold criminals stealing taxpayer benefits accountable. This has gone on far too long and the buck stops with me," said Foley.
Earlier on Mar. 26, charges were announced against nine individuals—including one Dominican national—accused of using stolen identities to collect nearly $300,000 from various benefits programs after data showed duplicate claims across states post-COVID pandemic disruptions: "This is the tip of the iceberg," said Foley. "We have dozens of investigations in the pipeline that will come to fruition in the coming weeks. My office is committed to stepping up and taking benefit fraud seriously." The team plans continued collaboration with multiple federal investigative agencies.
