AG: Ex-Columbia Gas worker stole identities of people affected by Merrimack Valley explosions

A former Columbia Gas insurance adjuster is facing criminal charges after investigators say she stole the identities of four people who were affected by the Merrimack Valley gas explosions in 2018.

Lashaunda Studaway, of Jackson, Mississippi, was arraigned last week in Essex Superior Court on four counts of identity fraud and two counts of larceny over $1,200, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.

Studaway was responsible for handling the financial claims from residents impacted by the September 2018 gas explosions in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover that resulted in thousands of dollars in property damage and left thousands without heat and hot water in the cold winter months.

Healey’s office alleges that Studaway stole $28,971 and the identities of four claimants impacted by the explosions by dispersing pre-paid debit cards to herself. She is said to have either submitted false claims under a real claimant’s file or created a file using a fictitious person’s name.

Excessive pressure in Columbia Gas lines caused a series of explosions and fires to occur in as many as 40 homes, with over 80 individual fires that devastated the region, an NTSB investigation found.

One person was killed and 22 others were injured in the explosions.

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