Three people have been arrested for alleged unemployment fraud.
State Auditor Shad White announced Tuesday that special agents from his office took Harrison County residents Chadwick Stubbs, Blair Stubbs, and Shinka Stubbs into custody. The three are accused of using the identities of 13 inmates to fraudulently receive unemployment benefits.
The unidentified inmates were reportedly incarcerated with Blair and Chadwick Stubbs at the time the claims were submitted to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Chadwick was in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl when he was 25. He fessed up to the crime in 2017. Blair was in jail for possessing drugs and leading police on a chase in 2015.
“My office discovered that during COVID, Mississippi handed out over half a billion dollars in improper unemployment payments,” White said. “We will continue working diligently to hold criminals accountable and recover as much of this misspent money as possible.”
If convicted, each face up to $36,000 in fines and up to 45 years in prison on the fraud charges.
SuperTalk Mississippi News asked the state auditor’s office whether the suspects are related, but the office was unable to verify that information.
