Brother and Sister Arrested for PPP Fraud

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (VDN) — A Hattiesburg man and woman were sentenced Tuesday in federal court for their roles in an unemployment insurance fraud scheme related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Thaddieus Cooper, 31, was sentenced to 27 months in prison. Artista Garner, 37, was sentenced to three years of probation. Both were ordered to pay $12,600 in restitution to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

According to court records and statements made in court, Garner, of Hattiesburg, assisted her brother, Cooper, in applying for unemployment insurance benefits. As an inmate in the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), Cooper was not entitled to receive the benefits. He was serving a six-year sentence for armed robbery. Garner used the funds for personal expenses and transferred some of the money to Cooper through his commissary account.

The unemployment benefits were subsidized through the CARES Act, which provided emergency aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal grand jury indicted Cooper and Garner on Sept. 10, 2024. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Jan. 30, 2025.

“These sentences demonstrate that those who defraud the government will be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon. “These defendants took advantage of a program developed to help families facing difficult times. The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute pandemic-related fraud wherever it occurs.”

“Artista Garner engaged in a scheme to defraud the Mississippi Department of Employment Security by filing for unemployment insurance benefits on behalf of co-defendant Thaddieus Cooper,” said Mathew Broadhurst, special agent in charge of the Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “Cooper was incarcerated at the time and thus ineligible for unemployment benefits. Garner and Cooper stole taxpayer funds from a program intended to assist American workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of U.S. Department of Labor programs.”

“The dedicated team at the State Auditor’s Office is proud to work with federal prosecutors to deliver record results for taxpayers,” said State Auditor Shad White. “Thank you to my team of investigators and to the prosecutors for bringing this case to a close.”

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Purdie prosecuted it.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force (NUIFTF), a multi-agency initiative responding to the unprecedented scope of pandemic-related fraud. The task force includes representatives from the FBI, DOL-OIG, IRS-CI, HSI, DHS-OIG, USPIS, USSS, SSA-OIG, FDIC-OIG and others.

Consumers are urged to remain vigilant and take steps to safeguard their personal information.

The CARES Act, enacted on March 29, 2020, expanded unemployment insurance eligibility to assist Americans affected economically by the COVID-19 pandemic, including workers not traditionally eligible for such benefits.

Anyone with information about COVID-19 fraud may report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866‑720‑5721 or submitting a complaint online at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.