Georgia Leaders Join Trump Administration At Anti-Fraud Meeting
This week, leaders from Georgia joined the Department of Justice’s 2026 Southeastern Fraud Enforcement Partnership event. The Trump Administration is working to build partnerships across the country, and with these seven states. Georgia leaders at this event include: Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
In conjunction with this event, the DOJ announced fraud charges in 17 different cases across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These recent cases involve over $350 million in intended losses and include cases involving SNAP benefits, Small Business Administration loans, housing benefits, and tax fraud. From July 4 alone, federal prosecutors charged cases reaching over $90 million loss and implicating 12 named defendants. The Division separately announced the formation of federal-state anti-fraud task forces in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida.
“Defeating the fraud epidemic in our country requires all-hands-on-deck from our federal and state partners nationwide,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Whether it’s sharing intelligence, data, personnel, or priorities, partnering with state agencies directly strengthens our ability to identify those stealing taxpayer dollars. When federal prosecutors work alongside state agencies to root out fraud, fraudsters lose and the American people win.”
Here are the cases described by the Department of Justice in North Carolina:
Northern District of Georgia led by U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg, United States v. Ian Patrick Jackson. Defendant Ian Patrick Jackson pled guilty for running a fraud and money laundering scheme that stole more than $3 million in CARES Act funds administered by the SBA in the form of PPP and EIDL loans. Jackson has twice been convicted of previous fraud felonies, recruited at least nine business owners into his scheme to submit fraudulent applications, and spent the proceeds on personal expenses, including restaurant dining, spa services, phone and credit card bills, and travel to California, Texas, and Aruba.
Southern District of Georgia led by U.S. Attorney Meg Heap, United States v Melanie Charise Thompson and Toriono Laselle Byrd. Defendant Thompson was indicted for orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Hinesville Housing Authority (HHA) of millions of dollars by using HHA funds to pay her former boyfriend for work that he never completed or paid him far in excess of what he should have been paid for work that was completed, sometimes in return for kickbacks. Purchases from fraud proceeds included custom jewelry worth over $100,000, a gold bracelet, a diamond ring, a Porsche Panamera, a Cadillac Escalade, a Bently Flying Spur, real estate, a hot tub, and tickets to a Janet Jackson concert, reaching nearly $3 million in loss.
