Salem Police: Mass. Woman Lied About Financials

Salem Police have arrested a Massachusetts woman after a year-long investigation into whether or not she tried to scam the New Hampshire court system in order to get a free attorney after she was arrested for shoplifting.

Maria Pereyra, 46, of Lawrence, MA, was arrested on Jan. 8, on a warrant for filing false financial information to Salem District Court.

According to police, Maria Pereyra was arrested in January 2014 on a shoplifting charge at the Rockingham Mall.

In court, she reportedly filed a financial affidavit seeking a public defender claiming to have no income despite working as a therapist.

Police opened an investigating into the claim a month later and Prosecuting Attorney Jason B. Grosky asked the court to consider whether Pereyra was qualified for a taxpayer-funded lawyer. Grosky told the court that she owned a home, had three vehicles registered in her name, owned stocks, had bank accounts, and was employed. She later filed tax returns for 2013 and the court ordered to see them. The tax filing reportedly revealed that Pereyra had more than $100,000 in income, according to Lt. Joel Dolan of the Salem Police Department. She later hired a private attorney for her shoplifting arrest.

“The Public Defender’s Office performs a significant service by representing indigent clients throughout the state at costs greatly reduced form what one would pay for a private lawyer,” Grosky stated in a prior court pleading. “Unfortunately, the entire system suffers when a person who has the ability to hire her own lawyer lies under oath to snatch for herself services that are meant to help our most needy defendants.”

Pereyra was arrested and after her arraignment, released on personal recognizance bail. She is also awaiting trial on the original shoplifting charge.

Editor’s note: The following post was derived from information supplied by the Salem Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch arrest report.