Three Missourians indicted in coronavirus aid fraud scheme

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted three Missourians in a fraud scheme that allegedly used the identities of deceased people to receive payments from federal coronavirus relief money. Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Warren Watkins and 25-year-old Marissia Jackson, both of Kansas City, and 40-year-old Lamar Johnson, of Eldon, were charged under a 37-count indictment returned by the grand jury on Oct. 5. The indictment was unsealed Thursday after Watkins and Johnson were arrested. Prosecutors allege the three filed 238 fraudulent economic impact claims and received a total of $285,000 from federal aid designated for coronavirus-related hardships.