OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – An Oktibbeha County woman must repay more than $43,000 she fraudulently received in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits.
Deidre Blair, 41, pleaded guilty in August to fraud, according to a Mississippi Department of Human Services press release issued Thursday. She received $43,690 in SNAP benefits after inaccurately reporting her household makeup and income to MDHS, which administers the program.
Blair received the fraudulent benefits on and off between October 2018 and July 2024, Scott Colom, district attorney for the 16th Circuit, told The Dispatch.
In a plea agreement Blair reached Aug. 7 with Colom’s office, she was ordered to repay those benefits in restitution, as well as an additional $1,000 in court costs. She must also participate in the Pretrial Intervention Program for three years.
MDHS Executive Director Robert Anderson said in the press release that the investigation and plea agreement “demonstrate the controls we have in place to identify, investigate and eliminate fraud in our programs are achieving their desired results.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
