Jackson, Miss. – An Austell, Georgia woman was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and committing COVID-relief fraud while on pretrial release, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Rodregas Owens of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General – Atlanta Field Division.
Chrystal Miesha Slaughter (Thompson), 34, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Jackson. Additionally, Slaughter was ordered to pay $205,262.89 in restitution to the victims in this case.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Slaughter used the personal identifying information of her victims to obtain loans from various banks, acquire lines of credit, purchase a luxury vehicle, and finance trips to locations such as South Beach, Florida. While on pretrial release after being indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts for committing these offenses, Slaughter fraudulently applied for unemployment insurance benefits from the State of Mississippi and the State of Georgia. Slaughter was fraudulently claiming Mississippi and Georgia unemployment insurance benefits simultaneously. She was then named in a ten-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in September 2021.
The Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Purdie prosecuted the case.
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.