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Politics54 outlets ran this2 min read

Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges

State lawmaker accused of scamming over $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Francisco E. Paulino

What this story says

  • Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino was arrested and charged with 11 counts including pandemic unemployment insurance fraud, pandemic loan fraud, and money laundering.
  • U.S. Attorney Leah Foley stated Paulino allegedly devised a scheme to obtain more than $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds.
  • Paulino is accused of using some of the funds for personal use, including real estate, loan payments, and his campaign account.
  • The alleged fraud began in 2020 when Paulino signed up for COVID relief funding for a relative.

Who covered it

Left 16%(7)Centre 33%(14)Right 51%(22)

Percentages are shares of the 43 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 11 of the 54 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

61/100

54 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 7 of the 43 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino has been arrested and charged with 11 counts related to pandemic unemployment insurance fraud, pandemic loan fraud, and money laundering. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley announced that Paulino allegedly devised a scheme to obtain over $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds.

According to the indictment, Paulino is accused of using some of the funds for personal benefit, including expenses for real estate, loan payments, and transfers to his campaign account. He also allegedly lent other funds to individuals at interest rates higher than those offered by the pandemic relief program. The alleged fraud began in 2020 when Paulino reportedly signed up for COVID relief funding for a relative.

Paulino's arrest follows that of Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña, who was also arrested this month on similar charges of pandemic loan fraud and money laundering. DePeña is accused of diverting public funds since 2020, using pandemic relief money for his tire shop, mayoral campaign, and personal debts.

Coverage comparison

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated reports below mention the specific amount of money Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña allegedly diverted or the name of his business, Tenares Tire Services Inc.

Tags:#PandemicFraud#PoliticalCorruption#Massachusetts#UnemploymentFraud#MoneyLaundering

Coverage settled. We checked this 26 times and stopped on 1 Sept 2026, 04:00. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • Left-rated outlets reported the arrest of state Representative Francisco Paulino on federal fraud charges. They stated he faces eleven counts including wire fraud and money laundering related to pandemic relief funds. The total amount involved was described as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  • Reports noted Paulino is the second local official in the region to be charged with fraud recently. Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña was also indicted for alleged COVID-19 relief fraud. The IBTimes UK report detailed how Paulino allegedly manipulated programmes, including using a relative's identity for unemployment benefits and applying for a loan for a donut shop before it opened.
  • The left-rated reports mentioned the indictment was unsealed by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. The IBTimes UK report stated Paulino allegedly used his tax preparation firm, Madison Tax, and a fast-food cafe called Jackson Enterprise in the scheme.

Centre

14 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated outlets reported that Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino was arrested and indicted on federal charges. These charges include wire fraud and money laundering related to the alleged misuse of COVID-19 relief funds.
  • Prosecutors alleged that Paulino fraudulently obtained more than $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds. The digests stated the money was used for real estate purchases, mortgage loans, and other expenses.
  • Several centre-rated outlets noted this arrest occurred weeks after another public official, Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña, was charged in an unrelated case. One digest mentioned Paulino is 46 years old.

Right

22 rated outlets

  • Fox News reported on the arrest of Massachusetts State Representative Francisco Paulino, highlighting that he is a Democratic Party official. The outlet stated that Paulino was charged with 11 counts related to pandemic unemployment insurance fraud, pandemic loan fraud, and money laundering. Fox News quoted U.S. Attorney Leah Foley stating that Paulino allegedly devised a scheme to obtain more than $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds and used some for personal use, including real estate, loan payments, and his campaign account. The report also noted that Paulino allegedly lent other money to individuals at higher interest rates. Fox News mentioned that Paulino's alleged fraud began in 2020 when he signed up for COVID relief funding for a relative. The outlet also reported on the recent arrest of Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña on similar charges, noting that DePeña allegedly used pandemic relief funds for his campaign and personal debts.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges?
Of the 43 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 16% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 51% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 54. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 43 rated outlets on this story, 16% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 51% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges biased?
Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges is one event reported by 54 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Massachusetts Rep. Paulino Arrested on Fraud Charges?
54 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What charges does Massachusetts State Rep. Francisco Paulino face?
State Representative Francisco Paulino faces 11 counts related to pandemic unemployment insurance fraud, pandemic loan fraud, and money laundering. He is accused of orchestrating a scheme to obtain over $700,000 in federal pandemic relief funds.
How did Francisco Paulino allegedly use the pandemic relief funds?
According to the indictment, Paulino allegedly used some of the funds for personal expenses such as real estate and loan payments, and also transferred money to his campaign account. He also reportedly lent money to others at higher interest rates.
When did the alleged fraud by Francisco Paulino begin?
The alleged fraud by Francisco Paulino reportedly began in 2020. At that time, he is accused of signing up for COVID relief funding on behalf of a relative.

Read it at the source

58 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

14
Show 6 more

Right

22
Show 14 more

Not rated

15
Show 7 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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