Prentiss County Couple Charged With Embezzlement

PRENTISS COUNTY, Miss. — A Prentiss County husband and wife have been indicted and arrested on charges of false pretense and embezzlement, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

Dirley Jones, 63, and Rita Jones, 62, of Booneville turned themselves in to authorities in Prentiss County today. The arrests followed recent indictment by the Prentiss County Grand Jury on three counts felony false pretense and one count felony embezzlement.

The indictment alleges that the Joneses, as owners and operators of Scott Del Cottage Assisted Living in Booneville, were receiving Medicaid payments for 19 residents, but then concealing those payments and continuing to collect monthly charges from the residents.

The indictment alleges that the couple collected approximately $133,000 of which they were not entitled, and embezzled more than $4,200 from one resident by depositing into their own account the resident’s Social Security checks that were in excess of what was owed for the resident’s care.

The defendants were booked into the Prentiss County jail and bond set at $20,000 each. If convicted they face up to 40 years behind bars and $55,000 in fines. As with all cases, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.