A former employee of the East Mississippi State Hospital has been indicted for allegedly stealing money from a resident of the facility, announced Attorney General Jim Hood in a news release. 

Gregory Freeman, 37, of Meridian, was indicted by a Lauderdale County grand jury for one count of felony exploitation of a vulnerable person.

The indictment alleges between December 2017 and April 2018, Freeman accepted $500 from a resident of the facility in exchange for tobacco products valued at less than $100.

At the time of the crimes, Freeman was employed as a direct care worker at the facility.

Freeman being held in the Lauderdale County Detention Facilty on a separate and unrelated capital murder charge from April. 

His initial appearance for the exploitation case is set for Oct 31. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.  

This case was investigated by Trey Rogers and will be prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Heather Joyner of the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.