Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Indicted on COVID-19 Fraud Charges

Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino was arrested and indicted on federal charges Wednesday, August 26, 2026, for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $700,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. The 46-year-old Democrat, who represents the 16th Essex District including Lawrence and Methuen, was taken into custody by the FBI and arraigned in Boston on an 11-count indictment. The charges mark the second arrest of a Massachusetts public official for pandemic-related fraud in less than two weeks.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, the indictment alleges Paulino engaged in pandemic unemployment insurance fraud, pandemic loan fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors claim the scheme began in April 2020, before Paulino was elected to the state legislature in November 2021. He is accused of using his tax preparation business, Madison Tax, to carry out the fraud. The alleged conduct includes filing a fraudulent unemployment claim in the name of an unsuspecting 77-year-old relative, resulting in approximately $44,000 in benefits that Paulino collected himself. He is further alleged to have submitted...