Siblings Plead Guilty to COVID Relief Fraud

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi, dated February 4, 2025. Artista Garner of Hattiesburg and her brother Thaddieus Cooper pled guilty on January 30, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the release, Garner assisted Cooper in applying for unemployment insurance benefits with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security while Cooper was an inmate of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, not entitled to benefits. Garner used the funds for personal benefit and transferred some to Cooper's commissary fund. Sentencing is scheduled for June 12, 2025, and each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

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Full text

PRESS RELEASE


Siblings Plead Guilty to COVID Relief
Fraud
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS – A Forrest County man and woman pled guilty to conspiring with each
other to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits related to the COVID-19
pandemic.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Artista Garner, 36, of
Hattiesburg, assisted her brother, Thaddieus Cooper, 31, in applying for benefits with
the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. As an inmate in the Mississippi
Department of Corrections (MDOC), Cooper was not entitled to receive unemployment
insurance benefits. Cooper was serving a sentence of six years in MDOC custody for
armed robbery. Garner used the unemployment funds for her personal benefit and
transferred some of the funds to Cooper via his commissary fund.

The unemployment insurance benefits were federally subsidized through the CARES Act
in response to the pandemic.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Cooper and Garner on September
10, 2024. Both Cooper and Garner pled guilty on January 30, 2025, to conspiracy to
commit wire fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2025, and they each
face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will
determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other
statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Patrick A. Lemon, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White,
and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office
of Inspector General, Southeast Region made the announcement.

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 T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s National
Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force (NUIFTF). In response to the unprecedented
scope of Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud, the Department of Justice established the
NUIFTF. The NUIFTF is a prosecutor-led multi-agency task force with representatives
from FBI, DOL-OIG, IRS-CI, HSI, DHS-OIG, USPIS, USSS, SSA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and other
agencies. Members of the NUIFTF are working with state workforce agencies, financial
institutions, and other law enforcement partners across the country to fight UI fraud,
and consumers should be vigilant in light of these threats and take the appropriate
steps to safeguard themselves.

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide
emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the
economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by
the CARES Act is the authorization that expands states’ ability to provide unemployment
insurance for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who are not
ordinarily eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by
calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at
866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at:
https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Updated February 4, 2025

Topic
CORONAVIRUS


Component
USAO - Mississippi, Southern


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