Pike County Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Bankruptcy Fraud, and Perjury

JACKSON, MS—Rhonda Marsalis, 45, of Summit, Mississippi, entered a guilty plea today to wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and perjury before Judge Tom S. Lee in U.S. District Court in Jackson, U.S. Attorney Don Burkhalter and U.S. Trustee R. Michael Bolen announced.

Marsalis is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21, 2010. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000.

Rhonda Marsalis used the Social Security number of another person and falsified her employment and income information in order to obtain a mortgage loan of over $250,000 for the purchase of a house. After learning that foreclosure proceedings had been initiated less than a year later, Marsalis filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case. She again falsely represented her Social Security number and falsified her employment and income. Marsalis also falsely testified under oath that the misused Social Security number was hers and that she had used it all of her life.

The U.S. Trustee’s Office investigated the discrepancy concerning Marsalis’ Social Security number further and discovered numerous other Social Security numbers that Marsalis had previously used, including several prior bankruptcy filings in Mississippi and in other states spanning back to 1992. Further investigation revealed that Marsalis had been working under her actual Social Security number and that one of the employers that she identified as a source of income did not exist.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Fulcher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammye Tharpe and was the result of a joint investigation involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of the U.S. Trustee, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.