Central Mass. South

A week after pleading guilty to more than a dozen counts of fraud and larceny, the owner of a medical transportation company in Webster has been sentenced to a year and a half in jail and ordered to pay full restitution.for defrauding MassHealth.

Southbridge-based Harrington HealthCare and Heywood Healthcare in Gardner have formed a new company that will allow the systems to pool and manage their patients' care, giving them an advantage in negotiating risk-based contracts with insurers.

The owner of a Webster–based wheelchair van company that provides non-emergency medical transportation services pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding the state's Medicaid program (MassHealth) of more than $470,000, the office of Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley announced.

Sales climbed 14 percent and profits grew 16 percent during the second quarter for fiber-laser maker IPG Photonics of Oxford.

Hometown Bank of Oxford has received state and federal approvals to open a new branch in Leominster at the entrance to the Mall at Whitney Field, the bank announced.

House and Senate negotiators on Wednesday evening broke through with a compromise on mercury thermostat recycling legislation that has been tied up in conference since last December.

Ten Central Massachusetts communities will receive federal community development block grants that total about $6.6 million for a variety of uses, notably housing and infrastructure upgrades.

An Oxford environmental company has been sued for allegedly failing to follow proper procedures while removing materials containing asbestos from a Sturbridge home, Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley's office announced Wednesday.

Webster-based Commerce Insurance Co. agreed Monday to pay the state $14.6 million to settle claims that it overcharged motorcycle owners on their insurance policies.

Foreign companies now employ nine percent of Greater Worcester's workforce, the third highest among the top 100 US metropolitan areas, according to a study.