Two Arrested After Stealing Unemployment Card

(HURON) – Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested two women Tuesday after they allegedly worked together to spend a woman’s unemployment.

 On Monday, January 18th a woman called police to report someone had stolen her unemployment card from a home on Huron Williams Road. 

The complainant told police she started receiving unemployment benefits in May 2020. The complainant was arrested on October 29, 2020, and had left her purse with her unemployment card inside at the house in Huron. When she was released from jail she retrieved her purse and discovered her card had been stolen. When she went to check the card’s balance she learned there was only a $2 balance.

The Indiana State Unemployment Office provided the complainant card owner with a list of the fraudulent charges which totaled more than $2,600 from January 2, 2021 – January 16, 2021. The charges were made at Wal-Mart, Dollar General Stores, Duke Energy, Google, Speedway, and cash withdraws from an ATM machine.

Misty Jones

Police learned that 42-year-old Misty Jones, of Huron, admitted in a Facebook message to the complainant that she had used the her unemployment card but would not admit who else had used the card.

Penny Jones

On Saturday, Feb. 6th officers spoke to Misty Jones and  her mother 67-year-old Penny Jones, of Huron. 

Misty Jones told police that the complainant had allowed her and her family use the card.

Penny Jones admitted to police she had used the complainant’s card at Wal-Mart to purchase groceries.  She told police the complainant had given her permission to use the card when she needed to.

Officers were able to recover a video of the two women making purchases with the complainant’s card at Wal-Mart. Misty Jones is seen in the footage purchasing a cart full of items, pays for those items, and then hands the card back to her mother. Penny Jones is then caught on camera at the service desk purchasing a money order with the card. The two are then captured on camera leaving the store and getting into their vehicle.

The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and warrants were issued for their arrests.