Bail revoked for former Healey aide LaMar Cook

A judge revoked bail for Gov. Maura Healey’s former aide on Thursday, a day after he was arrested on new federal charges alleging he fraudulently obtained federal food assistance benefits, court records show. 

LaMar Cook, 46, was arrested Wednesday on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and wire fraud charges. Federal prosecutors allege he received more than $500 a month in SNAP benefits after falsely claiming he had no income and less than $100 in his bank account. 

Cook was released on personal recognizance after a federal hearing in Boston on Wednesday, per court records.

But on Thursday, Hampden County prosecutors asked a Superior Court judge to revoke his bail in a separate case stemming from his cocaine trafficking and firearm charges.  

The Springfield resident was arrested in October 2025 after investigators allegedly intercepted eight kilograms of cocaine scheduled for delivery to the state office building where he worked. He was subsequently fired as deputy director of Healey’s Western Massachusetts office. 

Cook has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. He was released on $25,000 bail in March, per court records. 

One of the conditions of his release required him to obey federal law. In an affidavit filed Thursday, Hampden County District Attorney Kerry Beattie argued that Cook violated the condition by allegedly committing federal offenses that his indictment says took place from April 6 to Oct. 6. 

Prosecutors argued there was “probable cause the defendant has violated Federal Law” and thus “violated a condition of his release,” according to a motion filed Thursday. They also argued Cook is “unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release” and asked the court to revoke his bail for 90 days.

At Thursday morning’s hearing, Cook’s attorney, Kedar Ismail, argued that Cook had appeared in court “on his own volition” and that the new federal charges remained allegations. He also maintained that Cook “has abided by his conditions.” 

“This is some type of stretch,” Ismail said, per video from WWLP-22 News. “This is some mental gymnastics that the Commonwealth is doing in order to try to have this gentleman held and try to gain some type of — I don’t know — upper hand here. I don’t know whether it’s political.” 

Beattie countered that the federal court filings showed Cook had violated his release conditions. 

“We’re not here because the Commonwealth brought a case or the United States government brought a case,” she said. “We’re here because Mr. Cook committed more crimes.” 

Judge David Hodge ordered Cook to be held for 90 days at the conclusion of the hearing.

Ismail did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon. 

What prosecutors allege in Cook’s SNAP fraud case 

Cook claimed his bank account was nearly empty when he applied for SNAP benefits in April. His bank balance ranged from about $13,000 in January to more than $8,800 in April, federal investigators wrote in a criminal complaint.

Cook received income from a tax refund in May alongside “numerous” Zelle payments from his mother, who had won roughly $1 million in the Massachusetts Lottery in early 2026, investigators said.

Prosecutors further allege that Cook failed to disclose that his fiancée — who earned more than $80,000 annually with Springfield Public Schools — and her mother were living with him when he applied for SNAP benefits.

Cook obtained around $546 per month in SNAP benefits, which he and his fiancée allegedly spent at Massachusetts stores and during a trip to Florida in July, investigators wrote in the complaint. 

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley blasted state officials in a statement on Wednesday, saying she finds it “disturbing that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could not prevent this from happening.” 

“SNAP benefits are intended to put food on the table for struggling families who cannot make ends meet, not for those who allegedly hide income to circumvent the financial requirements, much less travel to Disney World,” Foley said.