Former Boston Housing Secretary Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Overtime Forms to Collect $72,131 in Fraudulent Pay

A former executive secretary at the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to falsifying overtime forms. The defendant lied about working overtime and forged her supervisor’s signature on the overtime forms.

Helen Murray, 41, of Malden, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 7, 2026.

From 2017 to 2024, Murray worked as an executive secretary at BHA. As an executive secretary, Murray was responsible for collecting weekly BHA timesheets, as well as overtime forms from other BHA employees. Murray was also eligible to work overtime and receive overtime pay.

To collect overtime, Murray’s overtime work had to be pre-approved by her senior management. Specifically, Murray would have to perform the overtime work, accurately and truthfully fill out an overtime form and submit it to her immediate supervisor via email to be approved electronically.

However, in January 2023, Murray began submitting false overtime forms to BHA payroll. Instead of submitting the forms to her supervisor for approval, Murray entered overtime hours that Murray had not worked and then falsified her supervisor’s signature on the form, without her supervisor’s knowledge nor permission. Murray would then submit the falsified overtime forms directly to BHA Payroll via email, after which BHA payroll would include Murray’s fraudulent overtime pay in her weekly paycheck.

In total, Murray submitted over 100 falsified overtime forms between January 2023 to August 2024 – ultimately collecting approximately $72,131 in fraudulent overtime pay.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. The Boston Housing Authority provided valuable assistance during the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, is prosecuting the case.