Office of the State Auditor
JACKSON, Miss. (WDAM) – The owner of a landscaping firm was arrested, charged with defrauding a Mississippi Delta city by submitting invoices for more than $150,000 for work never done.
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White announced Thursday that special agents from his office arrested John Jackson on one count of false statements or representations to defraud the government.
Jackson, landscape architect and owner of JPA, Inc., is accused of submitting invoices to the City of Tutwiler for landscape architect services that he never provided.
The fraudulent submissions caused a loss to the city of $155,039.15, White said.
“This is one of the larger cases we’ve had this year, so I want to thank the investigators on my team for their diligent work and the prosecutors for being willing to take the case,” said White.
Jackson faces up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted.
All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s Office online at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or calling 1-(800)-321-1275 during normal business hours.
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