Wilkinson County Deputy Sheriff Christopher James, 43, and Kelvin Tolliver, 54, both residents of Woodville, Mississippi, have been indicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze.

James and Tolliver are charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud involving a scheme and artifice to defraud Mississippi Farm Bureau.

The indictment alleges that James and Tolliver conspired to fraudulently obtain insurance proceeds by creating and submitting a false offense report with the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Department stating that Tolliver’s ATV had been stolen when, in fact, the ATV had not been stolen.

James used his position as a Wilkinson County Deputy Sheriff to prepare and submit the false offense report, which was used to obtain over $12,000 in insurance proceeds. James was also employed as a guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana.

Tolliver is scheduled to be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Keith Ball today at 2:30 p.m. James was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Ball on Wednesday, March 13, 2018, and released on a $10,000 bond.

The case is currently scheduled for trial in Natchez before United States District Judge David C. Bramlette on May 6, 2019.

U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the Public Corruption Task Force of the FBI’s Jackson Division, which is comprised of Special Agents with the FBI and Investigators from the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office, for their work on the investigation and commended the assistance of the DEA and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher.

The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.