Coleman arrested in state’s ongoing unemployment fraud probe

JACKSON, Miss. (VDN) — State Auditor Shad White announced Wednesday that special agents from his office have arrested Benjamin Coleman as part of an investigation into unemployment compensation fraud known as Operation Payback.

Coleman is accused of submitting falsified weekly certification sheets to obtain unemployment funds from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

“My office found that during COVID, Mississippi handed out over half a billion dollars in illegal unemployment compensation payments,” White said. “We will continue to drop the hammer on criminals who can be identified and recover as much of this misspent money as possible.”

If convicted, Coleman faces up to $20,000 in fines and up to 15 years in prison.

All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s Office at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or by calling 800-321-1275 during regular business hours.