Auditor’s Office makes arrest as part of Operation Payback

May 8, 2025 – State Auditor Shad White has announced that Special Agents from his office have arrested Benjamin Coleman as part of a detailed investigation into unemployment compensation fraud called Operation Payback.

Coleman allegedly submitted falsified weekly certification sheets to obtain unemployment funds from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

“My office found that during COVID, Mississippi handed out over half a billion dollars in illegal unemployment compensation payments,” said State Auditor Shad White. “We will continue to drop the hammer on criminals who can be identified and recover as much of this misspent money as possible.”

If convicted Coleman faces up to $20,000 in fines and up to 15 years in prison. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.