AG: Middleboro woman stole more than $86,000 in Medicaid care costs

By Benjamin Paulin
The Enterprise

Posted Feb. 18, 2016 at 9:46 PM 

MIDDLEBORO — A Middleboro woman was indicted by the state attorney general's office for fraudulently receiving over $86,000 in health care funds in the care of her disabled son, authorities said.

Mary Yost, age 53, of Middleboro was charged with making Medicaid false claims and larceny over $250 by false pretenses and was indicted by a Plymouth County grand jury on Feb. 16.

Yost was acting as both the personal care attendant surrogate and adult foster care caretaker for her son, a violation of MassHealth regulations. A press release by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office said Yost purposefully was accepting payments for both roles and double-billing the state between May 2009 and April 2014.

Yost also submitted timesheets that said her other son provided care to her disabled son between June 2011 and April 2014. Investigators found that her son was working elsewhere or in college during that time and services could not have been provided.

Yost is expected to be arraigned in Plymouth Superior Court at a later date.

Yost's charges come as part of a larger investigation into Medicaid fraud by the AG's office.

On Thursday, Healey's office announced they had brought charges against five people, including Yost, who defrauded the state healthcare program of over $230,000.

The others were from Dorchester, Haverhill, Southbridge and Pittsfield. A total of 18 indictments were brought down by grand juries regarding the alleged fraud.

“MassHealth provides critical healthcare services for people who otherwise cannot afford them,” said Healey. “We allege that these individuals exploited this system and defrauded taxpayers, while at the same time diverting resources from those in need.”

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