South Mississippi Residents Accused of Fraud

Three South Mississippi residents are charged in separate indictments alleging they made false statements to receive thousands of dollars in oil-spill recovery money.

Vester Ray Bassham is set for trial Oct. 7.

Kimberly Marie Isabell and Joseph Anthony Clements are set for trial Nov. 4.

The Sun Herald reports they each are accused of receiving money they weren’t eligible to receive in claims submitted to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

Bassham faces two counts of wire fraud involving $26,000 he received from a claim of lost earnings as an electrician for Torguson Construction, his indictment said. Bassham received $21,000 in September 2010 and $5,000 in January 2011 through money wired to a bank account in Biloxi.

Isabell faces one count each of wire fraud and false statements. She allegedly filed a claim for losses from her job at Isabell Janitorial Services and received a total of $17,000. A check for $12,000 was mailed to her in October 2010 and $5,000 was transferred to her bank account in Gulfport in January 2011.

Clements faces a fraud charge involving $36,000. His indictment said he received a check in that amount in November 2010 after filing a claim for lost earnings and profits from his shrimping and fishing business.

A federal grand jury indicted them in August.

All three are free on unsecured bonds of $25,000.