MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A Memphis woman pleaded guilty to lying about losing her job to the COVID-19 pandemic and was sentenced to five months in prison.

Rochelle Turner, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of information charging her with false claims in May.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Tennessee, Turner created and submitted fraudulent unemployment letters stating that she and other people lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They said she attempted to defraud the Emergency Cash Assistance program out of more than $15,000 and caused an actual loss of $6,000 to the program.

The attorney's office said Turner then pleaded guilty to the false claims she made.

She was sentenced to five months in federal prison, five months of home detention, and

See Full Page