The Mississippi Department of Human Services issued a corrected news release Friday evening. The amount of over-issuance of benefits has been revised. The story below reflects the corrected number.

A Crawford resident has been arrested for defrauding the state of more than $27,000 from Mississippi’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the state’s food stamps program.

Investigators with the Mississippi Department of Human Services have accused Tiffany Ames of receiving an over-issuance of SNAP benefits in the amount of $27,314.00 due to Ames failing to report all her husband’s employment income. In a news release Friday, MDHS said the investigation was initiated due to a listing that indicated that a SNAP fraud claim had been identified.

“Mississippians depend on these benefits to feed their families, and our duty is to ensure that families receive benefits in line with the standards set for the programs,” MDHS Executive Director Robert G. “Bob” Anderson said. “This investigation, which culminated in an arrest, is a great example of cooperation between our county office, investigation team, and local law enforcement.”

The Investigations Division is a subset of the MDHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which was created in August 2018 and charged with detecting, preventing, and deterring fraud, waste, and abuse within the agency. Through its audit and investigations, it has been responsible for $4,384,866 in funds collected from SNAP and TANF violations.

Suspected fraud can be reported MDHS online any time submitting the MDHS Fraud Tip Form at https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/report-fraud/, calling the Fraud Tip Line during normal business hours at 1-(800)-299-6905, or email at fraud@mdhs.ms.gov.