Mississippi Officials Investigate Disaster Relief Fraud Case

A woman from Itawamba County faces charges after state investigators say she took disaster relief items she was not due.

The attorney general’s office says 53-year-old Pamela Thompson, who lives just outside the Smithville city limits, was charged Wednesday with two counts of fraudulent use of identity.

Authorities said she obtained groceries from the United Way disaster relief center in Smithville after allegedly telling people she needed some items for a close relative whose home was destroyed in the storm.

Investigators said Thompson was arrested after the man’s wife came to claim items for the family.

She was being held in the Monroe County Jail on Wednesday pending an initial court appearance. Each charge carries up to five years in prison.

It couldn’t be determined whether she had an attorney.