Mississippi Woman Must Repay $17K in Oil Spill Claims Fraud

A 32-year-old Gulfport woman has been ordered confined at home and must repay $17,000 in an oil spill fraud case.

Sheila Wilbanks, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s Southern District office, told The Sun Herald that Kimberly Marie Isabell was a Gulfport Municipal Court deputy clerk when she filed a claim for oil spill recovery money after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Isabell claimed the oil spill caused her to lose earnings from her job with Isabell Janitorial Service. Her mother owns the business but Isabell was not employed there.

A federal grand jury indicted her in August on charges of mail fraud and wire fraud.

Isabell pleaded guilty to mail fraud in October.

She faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.