Lynn man and woman charged with bilking MassHealth of more than $490,000 in transport scam

By Todd Feathers, Globe Correspondent

A Suffolk County grand jury indicted a Lynn man and woman today for stealing more than $490,000 in a check scam targeting MassHealth’s transportation program, prosecutors said.

From October 2003 to July 2012, Marilyn Beltran, 42, fraudulently filed transportation reimbursement claims for her family members and then cashed or deposited the checks herself, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office said in a statement.

She was indicted on seven counts of presentation of false claims and larceny over $250, the statement said. Eliu Matos, 43, who allegedly assisted Beltran in the scam by cashing checks she made out in his name, was also indicted on charges of presentations of false claims and larceny over $250.

The two are scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Jan. 17.

Beltran worked for Maximus, a private company contracted to administer MassHealth’s transportation program, the statement said.

MassHealth pays for health care for certain low- and medium-income people, including for individuals who are HIV-positive. It provides nonemergency transportation services and emergency ambulance service, according to the state’s website.

The scam was discovered during an internal investigation by the company and referred to Coakley’s office. Maximum has promised to tighten its security and offered to pay restitution to for the losses, the statement said.

Todd Feathers can be reached at todd.feathers@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ToddFeathers.