Four people have been arrested for allegedly stealing the identities of Mississippi inmates to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits.
The Office of the State Auditor announced Monday the arrests of Felisa Suggs, Nathanial Coleman, P’Trance Fields, and Kavisia Blaylock after investigators discovered four unemployment claims submitted to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security using the names of inmates in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
According to investigators, Coleman and Fields allegedly obtained the identities of inmates who were incarcerated near them and used their information to submit fraudulent unemployment claims. Blaylock and Suggs allegedly used Cash App and bank accounts to launder money obtained through the scheme.
The arrests are part of Operation Payback, an effort by the auditor’s office to recover money lost to unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My office found that over half a billion dollars in illegal unemployment claims were given out during the pandemic,” State Auditor Shad White said. “That’s why my team started Operation Payback to recover as much of that misspent money as possible.”
Suggs, Coleman, Fields, and Blaylock each face up to $35,000 in fines and 40 years in prison if convicted.
