Deceased Louisiana teacher's daughter arrested in benefits fraud case

BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) - Ila Marcela Jacobs, the daughter of a deceased Louisiana teacher, was arrested for fraudulently receiving over $269,000 in retirement benefits from the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL).

Jacobs, 49, was taken into custody in Pensacola, Florida, on July 28th and extradited to Louisiana, where she faces charges of Government Benefits Fraud. The fraud occurred over a period spanning from December 2011 to April 2024.

Attorney General Liz Murrill stated, "The Attorney General's Office is on a roll with these Government Benefits Fraud arrests - protecting the money of the hard-working taxpayers of this State."

The investigation began when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation received a request for assistance from TRSL regarding allegations of fraud. TRSL officials discovered that benefits were being fraudulently received in the name of Loretta Jacobs, who passed away in December 2011.

Evidence gathered during the investigation identified Ila Marcela Jacobs as the perpetrator. She was booked without incident at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison after being extradited from Florida.

The investigation is ongoing, and Jacobs remains charged with Government Benefits Fraud. Authorities have not disclosed her bond amount.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.