Lynn man pleads guilty in check cashing scheme

BOSTON ? A Lynn man will spend a year in jail after pleading guilty to cashing more than $24,500 in false travel reimbursements as part of a scheme to steal from the state health care program MassHealth.?This defendant was involved in a scheme to fraudulently obtain travel reimbursements from a program that is intended to help those most in need,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement Monday. “He will now serve time in jail for stealing taxpayer dollars and undermining the integrity of the system.”Eliu Matos, 44, pleaded guilty Monday in Suffolk Superior Court to presentation of false claims; and larceny +$250. Superior Court Judge Carol Ball sentenced Matos to two years in the House of Correction, with one year to be served and the balance suspended for three years, according to the press release.Matos helped his partner Marilyn Beltran, also of Lynn, in a scheme in which the latter stole more than $490,000 from MassHealth by filing fraudulent transportation reimbursement requests for family members.Beltran was a transportation specialist at Maximus, a private contractor administering MassHealth’s transportation programs. She was primarily responsible for entering travel reimbursements for people who needed transportation to medical appointments.The Attorney General’s Office began investigating the case in July 2012 after Maximus found evidence of theft in an internal investigation.The investigation revealed that from October 2003 to July 2012, Beltran fraudulently entered reimbursements credited to her family members, leading to the Commonwealth issuing checks paying more than $490,000 to Beltran’s family members. Beltran either deposited the checks herself or the checks were cashed.Matos helped in the scheme and cashed $24,698 in fraudulent checks made out to his name. Maximus paid restitution for losses due to Beltran’s actions.Beltran pleaded guilty to the scheme Dec. 17 and was sentenced to one-to-two years in state prison.Coakley’s office said MassHealth “has worked closely with Maximus to tighten their internal controls to ensure this doesn’t occur again.”