AG: Haverhill Woman Facing Medicaid Fraud Trial Harassed Potential Witness

Essex Superior Court

A Haverhill woman facing trial in an alleged case of Medicaid fraud has now been accused of harassing a potential witness in her trial.

An Essex County grand jury this week indicted 37-year-old Crystal Clark with obstruction of a criminal proceeding.

In February, a grand jury indicted Clark on charges that filed false claims with MassHealth while serving as a personal care assistant for her disabled son.

After her indictment, Clark sent “intimidating and harassing text messages to a key witness” in order to “impede or obstruct” the criminal prosecution against her, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office told WHAV in a statement. “She also allegedly asked the witness to draft a false statement contradicting the testimony and documents presented to the grand jury,” the statement continued.

Clark is scheduled to be arraigned on the obstruction charge in Essex Superior Court on Jan. 4.

As WHAV first reported in February, Healey alleges Clark billed MassHealth more than $64,000 for services that were not provided. The charges stemmed from an investigation by Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division, with assistance from Healey’s Victim/Witness Services Division and the State Auditor’s Office using a professional personal care assistant to care for her son, Clark received permission from the state to serve that role.

According to an investigation by the attorney general and state auditor’s offices, Clark is accused of submitting timesheets certifying more than 4,000 hours of PCA services for Clark’s son were provided by her eldest son, boyfriend, and brother between January 2010 and November 2015.

Clark’s indictment in February was part of a larger investigation in which she four others were charged with defrauding the state’s Medicaid program a total of more than $230,000 by either falsely billing for services not rendered or double billing, according to a report by WHAV. A total of 18 indictments were returned by Plymouth, Berkshire and Worcester County grand juries as the result of criminal investigations conducted by Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Gregory H. Matthews and was investigated by Investigator Kaleigh Ross, both of AG Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division.

 

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