Former Insurance Adjuster Indicted in Connection with Stealing Identities of Four Victims of Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions

Defendant Also Allegedly Stole More Than $28,000

A former insurance adjuster was arraigned in Essex Superior Court in connection with charges involving the identity theft of four individuals from the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosion. Lashaunda Studaway from Jackson, Mississippi was arranged on charges including four counts of Identity Fraud, and two counts of Larceny over $1,200. In total, it is alleged that she stole more than $28,000 from the victims.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, between October 2018 and December 2018, Ms. Studaway worked as an insurance adjuster on behalf of Columbia Gas. In that role she was responsible for handling the financial claims from residents impacted by the September 2018 gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley that devastated the region, resulting in thousands of dollars in property damage and leaving thousands of residents and businesses without heat and hot water in the cold winter months.  

The AG’s Office alleges that Ms. Studaway stole $28,971 and the identities of four claimants impacted by the explosion by dispersing pre-paid debit cards – that were supposed to go to claimants – to herself. Ms. Studaway would either submit false claims under a real claimant’s file or create a file using a fictitious person’s name.

The Merrimack Valley Gas Emergency, which occurred on September 13, 2018, affected three major communities in the Merrimack Valley: Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence. The Gas Emergency resulted in one death, dozens of injured and hundreds of insurance claims involving damaged homes and property.

She is due back in court on December 16 for a pre-trial hearing.

More about the Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division

AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General William Aiello of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division with assistance from Director of Financial Investigations Sallyann Nelligan of the AG’s Financial Investigations Division and Victim Witness Advocate Amber Cary of the AG’s Victim Witness Services Division, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, and from investigators at the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau.