Mississippi Man Accused in BP Fraud

A federal grand jury has indicted a 26-year-old Pass Christian man in a fraud case alleging he received BP oil spill-recovery money by making a false claim for $5,000.

The Sun Herald reports Ruben Stefon Nichols Jr. claimed the oil spill caused him to lose money from a job at Nguyen’s Seafood in Harrison County. The government claims that’s not true.

The indictment alleges he applied for the money at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and received it in a wire transfer Nov. 2, 2010.

Nichols has been in custody since Oct. 14, when the Mississippi Department of Corrections arrested him on a probation warrant.

Nichols is held without bond. An initial court appearance on the federal charge is pending.