Indianola, MS – Gina Palasini a/k/a Tammi Palasini was sentenced this week for a 2013 indictment where she was charged with Felony Worthless Check in Sunflower County Circuit Court, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
Gina Palasini, 54 yoa, pled guilty at a previous court hearing and she was sentenced on Monday, February 22, 2016. Judge Margaret Carey-McCray sentenced Palasini to the maximum punishment for this crime which is 3 years in prison. Gina Palasini was also ordered to repay $192, 080.00 in restitution to her victims in this case, the Ward Family. Palasini’s Sunflower County sentence was ordered to run consecutive to other sentences that she has received in both Wayne and Pike County Circuit Courts. With the three different circuit court convictions, Gina Palasini has been ordered to serve a total of 20 years in prison with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. After Monday’s sentencing hearing, Palasini was remanded back to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections to serve her sentences.
Gina Palasini also has a pending federal case where she faces 19 counts of fraud and money laundering. That case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
Prior to Palasini’s arrest to answer for this indictment an array of agencies were involved in Gina Palasani’s extradition from California. Hugh McClendon, from the United States Marshals Service in Oxford, MS, in conjunction with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in California, played pivotal roles in arresting Palasani. It was discovered by the District Attorney’s Office that, on July 2, 2014, the defendant was scheduled to appear before yet another Board to present the Ponzi scheme in an attempt to defraud more victims. The agencies aforementioned were notified and on September 3, 2014 the defendant was apprehended for the FWC charge in Sunflower County and brought back to Mississippi to face charges in Wayne, Sunflower, Pike, and Rankin counties. The District Attorney’s Office check unit in Greenville, MS has successfully collected restitution from this defendant in 2011, 2012, and 2013 for victims within our district.
Richardson added that, “the District Attorney’s office appreciates all the hard work from every agency involved in ensuring that Gina Palasini answers for her actions. Without the efforts taken to uncover this criminal scheme, Palasini may still be out defrauding countless veterans and their families.”
Contact: W. Dewayne Richardson
District Attorney, Fourth Circuit Court District | 662-378-2105