The Suffolk County Grand Jury yesterday returned an eight-count indictment charging a Millbury man with posing unsuccessfully as the rightful heir to over $1 million in unclaimed assets held by the State Treasurer’s Abandoned Property Division, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The indictments charge KEVIN L. UPSHAW (D.O.B. 10/6/68) with three counts of forgery, three counts of uttering, and single counts of attempted larceny over $250 and giving a false statement under the penalties of perjury. The charges stem from Upshaw’s alleged attempts to pose as the rightful recipient of more than $1 million dollars in property held in the name of a deceased Winthrop doctor.

Conley’s office learned of Upshaw’s activity earlier this year from the Department of the State Treasurer. The Treasurer’s office did not release any assets to Upshaw and instead brought their concerns to law enforcement officials.

On March 15, Upshaw presented the Abandoned Property Division with documents purporting to be Dr. Rose Jannini’s will and trust agreement. Jannini died on April 16, 1986. Upshaw stated that he was aware of property in Jannini’s name held by the Abandoned Property Division and was present to claim it.

The will was dated Nov. 10, 1984. It named Ruth Greer as “personal representative” and Upshaw as the “successor representative” of Jannini’s estate should Greer be unable to perform her duties. It dictated that residue of her estate would go into a trust, for which Greer and Upshaw were the sole beneficiaries and trustees.

Upshaw also produced a death certificate for Ruth Greer, appearing to set the stage for his control over Dr. Jannini’s estate and trust – and any unclaimed property in Jannini’s name.

Treasurer’s Office employees reviewed Upshaw’s documents and observed several notable features. The documents were notarized by a notary public in Connecticut, rather than Massachusetts, and did not bear the notary’s commission expiration date. They also noted that the signatures of Jannini and her two witnesses appeared very similar.

Suffolk County Probate Court records contain a genuine version of Rose Jannini’s will, which was created about two weeks before her 1986 death. It supersedes any earlier wills and does not name Greer or Upshaw. Jannini’s signature on her 1986 will is markedly different from the one on the purported 1984 will Upshaw presented.

Further investigation by State Police detectives would reveal that the will and trusts Upshaw presented bear the raised seal of a notary public who was not appointed until 1988 – four years after the documents were dated.

Following the March 15 meeting, members of the Abandoned Property Division told Upshaw that he would need a Probate Court decree naming him a successor trustee in order to claim Jannini’s unclaimed property. On March 29, Upshaw filed in Suffolk Probate Court a copy of the trust along with a document stating that he was its sole living trustee and beneficiary, signing it under the pains and penalties of perjury. Three months later, the court issued a decree naming Upshaw the successor trustee.

In September 2010, Upshaw sent the Abandoned Property Division an additional trust document purportedly signed by Dr. Jannini in 1984, notarized by the same Connecticut notary public.

Based on the results of their investigation, State Police detectives assigned to Conley’s office obtained warrants for Upshaw’s arrest and a search of his residence. Upshaw was arrested on Oct. 28 at One Ashburton Place on his way to the Abandoned Property Division for a meeting. That same day, State Police executed the search warrant at his residence and recovered, among other things, the seal of the Connecticut notary public used to notarize the documents he had presented to the Treasurer’s Office and Probate Court.

Upshaw was arraigned in the Boston Municipal Court on Oct. 29. He is currently held on $5,000 cash bail. The indictments move his case to Suffolk Superior Court, where an arraignment is expected to be scheduled next week with his attorney, Michael Roitman. Efforts to identify and locate the rightful trustees of Jannini’s assets are ongoing.