Massachusetts' workers' compensation fraud investigators in 2018 referred 256 cases for prosecution, the most ever in a single year, according to a local news report posted Wednesday.

The report by a Boston television station did not explain why investigators were having a record year, but noted that workers and employers had been investigated. About 60 cases against employers are now under investigation, officials said.

Fraud “is definitely a big problem here in Massachusetts," said Tony DiPaolo, vice president of investigations at the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.

"If you have a bunch of fraudulent claims, people inflating the total value of the claim, the insurance company is then going to have to raise their rates," he said.

The report showed insurance company surveillance video of workers who had claimed they were too injured to work, but were involved in strenuous physical labor.