Marlborough, MA
Edit: a summary from Gemini for those who have not watched the video
This video, “Ex-Migrant Shelter Director Blows Whistle on Fraud” by Nate Friedman, features an interview with John Featherson, a former migrant shelter director in Massachusetts, who details alleged massive fraud, waste, and cover-ups of serious crimes within the state’s migrant housing system.
Allegations of Fraud and Waste
John Featherson, who worked at multiple sites including a Holiday Inn in Marlboro, claims the system is rife with abuse of taxpayer money:
- Billing for Empty Rooms: The state was billed $180 a night for vacant rooms, which Featherson characterizes as fraud [00:30], [26:36].
- Excessive Transportation Costs: The shelter was spending well in excess of $100,000 a month on Ubers and Lyfts [01:27], even though many residents had their own cars [08:51].
- Abuse of Benefits: Migrant families were allegedly receiving free housing, meals, and thousands of dollars monthly in EBT and WIC benefits, allowing them to accumulate over $50,000 a year in cash equivalent income [04:00].
- Unlimited Spending: The shelter operated with seemingly no budget for essential items, with Featherson ordering tens of thousands of dollars of products from Amazon every day, including coats, strollers, diapers, and formula [20:28], [21:02].
- Contractor Profits: The non-profit running the shelter, Elliot Community Services, saw its total revenue nearly double, and its CEO—a donor and friend of Governor Healey—is paid over $400,000 a year [11:31], [29:16].
Cover-up of Major Crime
Featherson states that the decision to leave his position was due to the cover-up of horrific crimes, including:
- Rape and Sexual Violence: He personally drove little girls who had been raped to the police station, but the state would “just cover them up” and the cases were never prosecuted [00:46], [31:01].
- Non-prosecution Mandate: Featherson claims police officers were given a mandate from the Governor to not give migrants a hard time or arrest them for crimes like driving unregistered or uninsured vehicles [33:54].
- Other Crimes: The shelter experienced high levels of domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing, and prostitution [32:27], [33:26]. Police were frequently called, sometimes five to ten times a day [31:26].
- Political Accountability: Featherson states that he called the Governor and District Attorney about serial rapists in the shelters and his calls were not returned [34:42]. He concludes that Governor Maura Healey should go to jail for covering up rapes, crime, sex trafficking, and financially “raping the taxpayers” [35:03], [35:49].
Background and Logistics
- “Right to Shelter” Law: The original Massachusetts law was intended to shelter pregnant women in abusive relationships [04:51]. Featherson and Friedman allege Governor Healey misinterpreted this law and actively recruited migrants at the Southern border in coordination with the Biden administration [05:13].
- Reason for Coming to MA: Migrants told Featherson they came to Massachusetts because “Joe Biden told us everything was free” and border patrol advised them it was the only “right to shelter place in the country” [24:25], [24:33].
- Demographics: The shelter was predominantly Haitian (about 90%) [23:01]. Many of these residents had spent 10 years or more in countries like Chile and Brazil after leaving Haiti, and their children often spoke Spanish or Portuguese [23:56], [24:06].
- Services: The shelter provided free wrap-around services, including on-site daycare, and contracted a company to do the residents’ laundry five days a week [12:07], [19:38].
- Homeless Americans Turned Away: Featherson recounts having to turn away homeless veterans and senior citizens who were looking for a place to sleep [42:00].
The full video is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foRnrZsAW4I