A Massachusetts couple, Rachel Kadis, 32, and Brian Ferreira, 34, have been arraigned on charges of stealing over $267,000 in welfare benefits. Prosecutors allege the couple defrauded federal and state programs, including Social Security, SNAP, and MassHealth, while living together in a rented $605,000 home.
Kadis is accused of submitting forged lease documents to welfare programs, falsely claiming she was a single mother raising four children without financial support from Ferreira. Investigators found that during the period they received benefits, Ferreira was employed as a robotics engineer and also received payments from the Veterans Administration following a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan ending in December 2020. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on Wednesday.
Kadis faces 17 charges, including multiple counts of making false statements under penalty of perjury, larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme, and forgery. Ferreira faces three charges, including receiving stolen property, misleading an investigation, and conspiracy to defraud MassHealth. They were released on personal recognizance with conditions, including no contact with witnesses. Ferreira is restricted from leaving Massachusetts except for business trips.
Kadis's court-appointed lawyer, Ryan Matthews, argued that his client legitimately applied for welfare programs after her marriage to Ferreira deteriorated, citing his struggles with PTSD upon returning from deployment. However, prosecutors claim the couple was living together in their Bridgewater home throughout the period they received benefits.
This case follows a separate accusation last year where Kadis and Ferreira were charged with stealing nearly $18,000 from a GoFundMe fundraiser intended for a homeless man, Gregory Bobst. The couple allegedly created the fundraiser and invited Bobst to live in their home, but the relationship soured after about six weeks. Bobst died in July 2025, having never received any funds from the fundraiser, according to police. The GoFundMe case is still pending in the same court.
Investigators detailed the alleged breakdown of benefit theft: $45,500 from Social Security Income, $34,600 from SNAP, $167,000 from MassHealth, $6,200 from the Mass SSI State Supplement Program, and $14,500 from Rental Assistance for Families in Transition.