Mississippi Inmate Facing Oil Spill Fraud Charges

Federal authorities say a 40-year-old man has been indicted on fraud charges involving more than $47,000 he received in oil-spill recovery money.

A federal indictment alleges Brian Keith Lee received the money after he and a co-conspirator provided false information about lost earnings due to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

The indictment says Lee filed a claim that he lost wages from his customer service job with J.W. Consulting, which he said was doing business as Gulf South Seafood of Long Beach and Biloxi.

The Sun Herald reports Lee has been imprisoned since January after conviction on a felony drug possession charge in Harrison County.

He was indicted in the federal case in March. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in May.