A Cleveland-based Mississippi business owner has been found guilty in connection with a scheme to defraud a government grant program.
Ethel Cain, owner of Lifeline Financial Freedom Solutions (LFFS), used her company to submit fraudulent grant applications on behalf of other businesses to obtain CARES Act stimulus funding in a “Back to Business” grant program through the Mississippi Development Authority.
Officials at the Mississippi Development Authority reported Cain and LFFS to the state auditor’s office after denying multiple grant applications submitted by the company. Cain had submitted nearly $400,000 worth of potentially fraudulent grant applications, the majority of which were denied. Agents with the state auditor’s office identified $38,500 in grant payments made to LFFS as a result of the fraud.
“This was my office’s first case arresting someone for COVID stimulus fraud,” State Auditor Shad White said. “I’m thankful to the agents in my office and the prosecutors who took the case for their work in bringing it to a close.”
Cain was found guilty by a Bolivar County jury and now awaits a sentencing date to be scheduled.
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