JP Healthcare Worker in Court After Fraud Indictment

A Jamaica Plain healthcare worker, indicted on fraud charges, pleaded not guilty in Boston Municipal Court March 6.

Abel Vega, 29, has been charged with one count of Medicaid False Claims and one count of Larceny over $250 after allegedly defrauding MassHealth of nearly $9,000, according to a statement from Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office Friday.

Vega billed MassHealth for more than 50 hours per week of PCA services while the MassHealth member was inpatient, first at a hospital, and then at a long-term care facility, a May 2011 to August 2011 investigation found.

Vega was one of eight personal care workers to receive charges for allegedly defrauding the state by billing for a total of about $260,000, according to the statement. Thirty-two indictments were filed in all.

“The brazenness of the fraud committed in these cases is particularly troubling,” Coakley said in a Feb. 13 statement. “The defendants allegedly stole more than $260,000 from taxpayers, diverting resources from those who truly need it.”

Vega is due back in court for a pre-trial conference May 13.