Auditor announces guilty plea in Operation Payback
JACKSON, Miss. — State Auditor Shad White announced Friday that inmate Kenjarell Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft, one count of fraud and one count of wire fraud for fraudulently applying for unemployment benefits while incarcerated, using other prisoners’ personal information and his mother’s address to receive payments.
Hinds County Circuit Court sentenced Thomas to 15 years to serve and ordered him to pay $37,470.53 in restitution, White said.
White said his office found that during the COVID-19 pandemic Mississippi distributed more than half a billion dollars in illegal unemployment compensation payments. “We will continue to find as many of these fraudsters as possible and hold them accountable for their crimes,” White said.
The announcement was made as part of Operation Payback, the auditor’s probe into pandemic-era unemployment fraud. Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s Office by clicking the red button on the office website or by calling 1-(800) 321-1275 during normal business hours.
We will provide more information as it becomes available.
