A Mississippi couple has been arrested for working together to get unemployment benefits for the husband while he was in prison.
Brandon Williams and Miranda Trulove were taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to defraud the state government. According to the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, Williams would call his wife from prison and request that she apply for unemployment benefits in his name. Williams then received the benefits via an unemployment debit card, in which Trulove used on numerous occasions.
Per state law, it is illegal to receive unemployment benefits while incarcerated.
“These are the latest arrests we’ve made for unemployment fraud,” State Auditor Shad White said. “We will continue to use the latest technology to uncover fraud, which is how we’ve been able to recover more money in the last five years than any other five-year period.”
If convicted, Williams and Trulove could each face up to five years in prison and $1,000 in fines.
