Reports

BOSTON – A former North Shore resident was arrested today in connection with allegedly filing a fraudulent loan application in order to obtain over $660,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds and using those funds for personal expenses, including an alpaca farm in Vermont.

BOSTON – A Dudley man was arrested today in connection with his alleged involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain and misuse COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

BOSTON – A Charlestown man whose identity is unknown was charged last week in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently claim COVID-19-related unemployment assistance and commit other frauds, all in connection with his use of a stolen identity.

BOSTON – A Quincy man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with selling lanyards that falsely claimed to protect against viruses.

In this performance audit, we reviewed financial activity from federal funds provided by the CARES Act and the CRRSAA. The Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) received grant funding under two components of the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund: direct funding from the United States Department of Education (US DOE), provided through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), and funding from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE), allocated through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Under the CRRSAA, MassArt received direct funding...

The audit examined Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination's (MCAD) case management system to determine whether a backlog was present. The audit also reviewed whether MCAD had created a process for ensuring that CARES Act funds received complied with the policies issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth and whether the employees processing these funds were trained in risk management and information security as required by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security.

The audit examined Worcester State University's (WSU) use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants received through the CARES Act and CRRSAA. The audit also determined whether users of WSU’s Colleague Finance system (the information system containing financial records used at the university) received cybersecurity awareness training in accordance with standards issued by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security. Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance by WSU that must be reported.

In this performance audit, we reviewed financial activity from federal funds provided by the CARES Act. Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received grant funds under two components of the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund: direct funding from the United States Department of Education (US DOE), provided through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and funding from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE), allocated through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. The purpose of our audit was to determine whether STCC administered the CARES Act...

In this performance audit, we reviewed financial activity from federal funds provided by the CARES Act. Greenfield Community College (GCC) received grant funds under two components of the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund: direct funding from the United States Department of Education (US DOE), provided through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), and funding from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE), allocated through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. The purpose of our audit was to determine whether GCC administered the CARES Act funds it...