Three arrested in COVID fraud scheme as part of ‘Operation Payback’

State Auditor Shad White’s office has arrested three South Mississippians in connection to an unemployment fraud investigation dating back to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auditor’s office investigators say Blair, Chadwick, and Shinka Stubbs submitted fraudulent claims to obtain unemployment funds by using the identifies of 13 different inmates who were incarcerated with Blair and Chadwick at the time the claims were submitted to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

The trio has been processed on these charges at the Harrison County Jail, where Chadwick and Blair are currently being held.

If convicted, all three could face up to 45 years in prison and $36,000 in fines.