Forest City woman given suspended sentence after guilty plea to unemployment fraud

FOREST CITY — It’s a suspended sentence for a Forest City woman who pleaded guilty to improperly receiving unemployment benefits.

50-year-old Janell Kelso was charged with one count of first-degree fraudulent practice. Trial information showed Kelso was accused of unlawfully receiving unemployment benefits to which she was not entitled to by misrepresenting her employment status and income to Iowa Workforce Development between November 2019 and January 2023.

Kelso pleaded guilty to the charge in March.

District Judge Chris Foy on Tuesday sentenced Kelso to a suspended ten-year prison sentence and placed her on five years probation. Kelso was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of just over $30,650.