A Mississippi woman has been sentenced for defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of tens of thousands of dollars.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services announced Thursday morning that Kemper County resident Michelle Clay entered a plea agreement on March 4 related to fraudulent receipt of public assistance benefits. According to MDHS, Clay improperly received $30,864 in SNAP benefits by failing to accurately report her household composition and household income.
Clay was sentenced to 15 years of probation and ordered to pay fines, fees, restitution, and investigative costs totaling $32,301.
“This is a great example of collaboration between our investigations team, MDHS county offices, district attorneys, and local law enforcement,” MDHS Inspector General Sandra Griffith said.
The investigation was conducted by Agent-in-Charge Kevin Baysinger with the MDHS Office of Inspector General’s Division of Investigation. The division was established in 2018 and is responsible for detecting, preventing, and deterring fraud, waste, and abuse and has recovered millions in SNAP overpayments since its inception, per MDHS.
“This investigation and plea agreement demonstrate, once again, the controls we have put in place to identify, investigate, and eliminate fraud in our programs,” MDHS Executive Director Bob Anderson said. “Plainly, those controls are working.”