A federal grand jury has indicted former Massachusetts official Lamar Cook on a second count of wire fraud tied to his alleged scheme to obtain SNAP benefits while free on pretrial release in a separate state drug and firearm case.
Cook, 46, of Springfield, previously faced a federal criminal complaint charging him with one count of SNAP fraud and one count of wire fraud after his October arrest. The new indictment, returned Wednesday, treats two electronic transmissions of his April 6, 2026, benefits application as separate offenses: one involving a server in Virginia and another involving a service provider in Wisconsin. He is scheduled for arraignment on the added charge Monday in federal court in Boston.
Prosecutors allege Cook submitted an online application claiming zero income, less than $100 in the bank, and a household limited to himself and a minor child. Court records show his account held more than $8,800 that day. He also allegedly omitted that his fiancée, a Springfield Public Schools employee earning over $80,000 annually, and her mother lived with him. Additional inflows included roughly $12,000 in Zelle transfers from his mother after she won approximately $1 million in the Massachusetts Lottery, a tax refund, and a post-termination vacation payout.
Massachusetts State Police photo.…