Ga. inmate running pandemic unemployment fraud from behind bars sentenced to years in prison

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
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A judge has sentenced a Georgia inmate to years in prison after he allegedly orchestrated a fraud scheme from jail.

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According to the Middle District of Georgia Attorney’s Office Jacob Garner, 34, of Milledgeville pleaded guilty to theft of United States government funds.

Court records show that in 2020, Garner was an inmate at the Baldwin County Jail.

Baldwin County detectives reportedly found messages between Garner, and his then-girlfriend and co-defendant Lindsey Garner(Quinton), 32, of Milledgeville. The messages allegedly discussed filing fraudulent unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment assistance to the Georgia Department of Labor.

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Throughout the investigation, GDOL agents learned that Garner reportedly told Quinton to get fraudulent loans for both of them and two inmates. Out of the four claims, only two were sent out.

One of the claims was in Quinton’s name for $10,329 and the other was in Garner’s name for $13,776, totaling $24,105.

Officials say, Quinton was working at the time and was not qualified for the loans. Inmates are also not eligible for unemployment benefits.

All four of the claims listed Quinton’s mailing address and were sent from the same IP address. Authorities say the email address also was tracked back to Quinton’s personal email account.

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According to the release, authorities searched Garne’s jail cell and found a list of inmates with their personal identifiable information (PII), social security numbers, and birth dates.

On Feb. 9, Garner was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Quinton pleaded guilty to theft of government funds on Aug. 24, 2022, and was sentenced to serve five years of probation on Nov. 2, 2022.

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