Couple Faces Charges in Glass-in-Food Scam

A couple has been charged with filing fraudulent insurance claims that said they had eaten glass found in their food at restaurants, hotels and grocery stores, federal prosecutors said.

Ronald and Mary Evano filed the claims in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland, an indictment made public Friday said. Mary Evano is still being sought.

The couple used aliases, false
Social Security numbers and identity cards, and in some cases, had eaten glass intentionally to support their insurance claims, prosecutors said. The glass did not come from the food they had bought, prosecutors said.

In 1997, prosecutors said, Mary Evano went to Beth
Israel hospital in Boston claiming to have eaten glass at a Boston restaurant. The couple, who were then apparently living in Weymouth, settled with the restaurant's insurer for $22,000, according to the indictment.

Between 1997 and 2005, the Evanos filed fraudulent insurance claims worth more than $200,000 and left a trail of unpaid medical bills worth more than $100,000, the indictment said.

The Evanos are charged with conspiracy and multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, identity fraud, Social Security fraud and making false statements on health care matters.

Ronald Evano is being held by police in Maryland. He is scheduled to return to Massachusetts where he will be charged in U.S district court, the U.S. attorney's office said. It could not immediately be determined if they had attorneys.

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