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Miss. (WLOX) — Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said her office has made 205 arrests and recovered 394 human trafficking victims in the state over the last few years, citing the numbers as evidence of Mississippi’s standing as a leader in combating the crime
“Not one person said, I want to be a victim in this human trafficking circle,” Fitch said
Fitch said her office has trained more than 600 law enforcement officers across the state to support multi-jurisdictional operations. She said recovery teams include shelter staff, counselors, a sexual assault nurse, and survivors who speak directly with victims
“We’ve got survivors who now will talk to these victims and say, look, all these people are here to help you. They want to help you move on with your journey,” Fitch said
The attorney general said the state legislature has passed harsher penalties for traffickers, noting the first conviction under the new laws resulted in a 48-year sentence
New legislation also allows victims’ records to be expunged to help them reenter the workforce and pursue education
“They want to get a job. They want to go back to school. And so now we have some new legislation where we can expunge their records. So that’s a great win for these individuals,” Fitch said
Fitch said her office recently secured 11 indictments and more than $12.3 million in Medicaid fraud recovery. She also cited a separate prosecution of pharmacists in North Mississippi involving approximately $800,000 in fraudulent billing and altered records
“It’s important to go out and go after these fraudsters. They’re utilizing our taxpayer dollars,” Fitch said
Fitch said Mississippi has also implemented data-sharing across agencies to identify fraud patterns more quickly
Fitch said Americans lose more than $2 billion annually to robocall and text scams. She said 49 attorneys general recently sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting stronger legal tools to pursue individuals and groups behind the schemes
“They’re taking advantage of all the people across our country, and so we’ve got to stop that,” Fitch said. “We need every tool and re
Fitch said many of the operations originate outside the United States or across state lines, complicating enforcement
Fitch referred to social media platforms as a “social media cartel.”
“It’s always about the money. It’s not about our children,” Fitch said
Fitch said her office reached a settlement with Roblox that she described as a “transformational change,” requiring age verification, parental approval, time limits on usage, and restricted advertising to children
Fitch said Mississippi’s Walker-Montgomery Online Protection Act, passed by the state legislature, is currently being challenged in court by social media companies. The law states that a minor must have permission from a parent or guardian to have a social media account and requires digital service providers to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to verify users’ ages
“We’re fighting that battle. We’re winning, and we’ll continue to win,” Fitch said
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