Brandy Ann Jarrell, Mail Fraud, Mississippi 2014

Biloxi Woman Pleads Guilty to Oil Spill Fraud

Brandy Ann Jarrell, 37, of Biloxi, has been caught in a scheme to defraud the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

According to U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, Jarrell admitted to carrying out a scheme to defraud the facility by making false claims for damages. She claimed she lost earnings and profits from her employment as a deckhand on an oyster boat in a south Mississippi harbor as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill when, in fact, she did not work on the oyster boat and did not lose earnings and profits.

As a result of her false claim, Jarrell received an Emergency Advance Payment check in the amount of $28,800.00 in the mail from the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

Jarrell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.

Jarrell will be sentenced on Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. by U. S. District Judge Sul Ozerden.

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at (866) 720-5721 or fax information to (225) 334-4707 or e-mail it to disaster@leo.gov.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/biloxi-woman-pleads-guilty-oil-spill-fraud