I-Team: Attleboro Man Receives Stranger’s Welfare Benefits, Claims State Ignored His Calls

BOSTON (CBS) – The mysterious mail started arriving at Stephen Gainer’s home late last year. The correspondence was addressed to a complete stranger. At first, Gainer tossed them in the trash, thinking the post office had made a mistake. But when the mail continued arriving at the Attleboro condominium he’d owned since 2008, Gainer took a closer look. He realized it was all coming from state agencies that provide assistance to needy families. The mail included healthcare statements from MassHealth and letters from the Department of Transitional Assistance. There were even a couple of checks from the government, Gainer said. “And I started going, ‘Wait a minute. There is something wrong here.’ That’s when I started calling the fraud hotline,” he told the I-Team. Gainer was instructed to write, “return to sender” on the envelopes. He said he sent several pieces of mail back to the post office, including the checks. But after several calls, and several months, the mail just kept coming. During the phone calls to the fraud hotline and other state employees, Gainer said nobody ever wanted to hear details. “They just wanted to get me off the phone as fast as humanly possible,” he said. At one point in June, Gainer grew so concerned that he would somehow get blamed for the mistake, he filed a precautionary report with the Attleboro Police Department. “Reporting party believes someone may be trying to take advantage of the system,” the police r...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health i-Team Local News Syndicated Local Watch Listen Fraud Ryan Kath Welfare Benefits Source Type: news