Insurance Adjuster Pocketed $28K Belonging To Merrimack Gas Explosion Victims: AG

A Mississippi insurance adjuster is accused of stealing nearly $29,000 and the identities of four victims of the 2018 Merrimack gas explosion, authorities said.

A house in Merrimack was destroyed after a natural gas explosion in 2018. The blast destroyed as many as 40 homes and damaged several more.
Photo Credit: *National Traffic Safety Board*

Josh Lanier

10/04/2022 4:50 p.m.

Lashaunda Studaway faces four charges of identity theft and two counts of theft over $1,200, the Massachusetts Attorney General said.

Studaway worked as an insurance adjuster for Columbia Gas and was responsible for handling financial claims for the people affected in the September 2018 natural gas explosion in Merrimack Valley, authorities said. As many as 40 homes were destroyed and more were damaged in the blast and 80 fires started across Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. according to the National Traffic Safety Board.

Studaway was supposed to disperse pre-paid debit cards with money for the victims, but she kept several of them for herself, according to the Attorney General's Office. Investigators said she submitted false paperwork under four of the victims' names and created fake information to redirect $28,971 in payments.

She was arraigned earlier this week and is set to return to court in December for a pre-trial hearing.

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