Mississippi Man Faces Prison for Lying to Get Oil Spill Funds

A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges of lying about his past employment to get $25,800 in oil-spill recovery money.

The Sun Herald reported that Shawn Albert Townsel will be sentenced March 26.

Prosecutors said Townsel received the money after claiming he lost work as a first-class painter/blaster with Northrop Grumman/Peyton Sandblasting & Painting in Pascagoula and in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

Townsel also gave the Gulf Coast Claims Facility false documentation, including an income tax return and a letter from his alleged employer.

Court documents show Townsel made the fraudulent claims after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill of April 2010, and received a check for his recovery money in the mail.

Townsel faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.