MONTGOMERY — Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees announced today that the Department has successfully prosecuted several Alabamians for unemployment compensation fraud, including one from Selma.

Christopher J. Carter, of Selma, was tried in Dallas County District Court on Oct. 29.

An investigation by Labor’s Benefit Payment Control Section determined that Carter received a total of $1,571 in benefits to which he was not entitled.

Carter pled guilty and was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended for one year pending restitution and given one year of unsupervised probation.

He was also ordered to pay court costs and restitution in the amount of benefits received illegally.

“In these economic times, we want to make sure that all who are entitled to benefits receive them. But at the same time, we will not allow those who deliberately try to defraud the system to go unpunished,” said Surtees. “We are working with local District Attorney Offices to make sure that we can identify and prosecute those individuals who are committing these crimes. We would also like to remind employers that their timely reporting of new hires is one of the best tools we have to detect unemployment fraud. ”

Unemployment compensation fraud may be reported to the Department of Labor by calling (800) 392-8019.

Employers may find more information regarding reporting new hires at www.labor.alabama.gov/nh.