The Suffolk County Special Grand Jury today returned a sweeping 20-count indictment charging the former head administrative clerk for Boston’s Veterans’ Services Department with demanding kickbacks from two women he paid as health care aides, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The indictments charge JOSEPH H. MILLER (D.O.B. 9/3/53) of Beverly with seven counts of false statements by a public employee, seven counts of procurement fraud, two counts of solicitation of gifts by a public employee, two counts of larceny over $250, and single counts of extortion and attempted larceny over $250.

Boston Police arrested Miller early this evening on a warrant out of Suffolk Superior Court.

“These charges reflect the theft of thousands of dollars from men and women who served this country, the families that depend on them, and the public at large,” Conley said. “The safety net for those families is shrinking. Every dime matters. There’s never an excuse for fraud, but it’s especially egregious when it targets our veterans.”

The scheme came to prosecutors’ attention last summer, when the two women from whom Miller demanded kickbacks spoke with a lawyer. That lawyer in turn contacted Conley’s office. Prosecutors notified Mayor Thomas Menino of the investigation, leading to an audit of the Veterans’ Services Department and Miller’s suspension.

Conley thanked the mayor for his administration’s full cooperation in the probe, saying city officials gave prosecutors accounting records and other documentation that bolstered the criminal investigation. The state’s Department of Veterans’ Services also assisted greatly in the investigation, making employees available for interviews and myriad documents available for review.

“Upon knowledge of these allegations, I ordered my administration to act quickly and cooperate fully with authorities as well as conduct an independent review of the department,” Menino said.

The eight-month investigation was conducted by State Police detectives assigned to Conley’s office, Boston Police anti-corruption detectives, and Assistant District Attorney Edward Beagan of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit. Beagan led proceedings in the Special Grand Jury, which has investigated homicides, gang-related violence, and complex financial cases exclusively since 2006.

Prosecutors allege that Miller paid two women as health care aides with city funds that are later reimbursed at a rate of 75% by the state’s Department of Veterans’ Services. Miller allegedly demanded that those women provide him with a portion of that payment. Miller also allegedly tried but failed to pay a family member who refused to take part in the alleged scheme.

Miller allegedly approached the first woman in November 2009 and proposed that she work as a health care aide to her mother, the widow of a veteran, using another person’s license as a certified nurse’s assistant. Miller then instructed her to give him up to $1700 per monthly paycheck. When the woman balked at that instruction, Miller allegedly suggested that he could withhold her mother’s benefits.

Miller allegedly paid a second woman, this one a certified nurse’s aide, also to provide care through the city’s Veterans’ Services Department. In that case, he allegedly falsified time sheets in June 2010 so that she would be paid, then took $2550 from her. In July, he allegedly padded her paycheck with an additional $1600 that he demanded.

In November 2010, Miller also allegedly issued a check for more than $4185 to his niece. That check, which was cut after Miller allegedly presented the Veterans’ Services Department with fraudulent times sheets and other paperwork, was never successfully delivered. The niece refused to cooperate with Miller’s alleged plan.

Miller is expected to be arraigned Monday in Suffolk Superior Court.