Dupe embezzled over $300,000 for overseas lottery. Yes, you read that correctly.
The Justice Department issued the following statement.
Randy James, 56, the former City Clerk of Bay Springs in Jasper County, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett, to money laundering and making false statements on a federal tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Atlanta Field Office, and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White.
“One of the highest priorities of this office is bringing to justice corrupt officials who betray our public trust. I commend local bank employees who spotted this criminal activity, as well as our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners and prosecutors who were diligent in catching this crook and holding him accountable. We will continue to do all that we can to root out criminality and corruption in all forms of government,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
“This loss is massive for a town the size of Bay Springs – over 10% of their annual budget. Our small towns cannot afford to lose a single penny right now,” stated State Auditor White. “My office will work to hold fraudsters like Randy James, who knowingly steal your money, accountable with zero tolerance for this kind of theft.”
James is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Starrett on January 12, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. in Hattiesburg.
At sentencing, James will face up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release for money laundering. Additionally, James faces up to three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release, making false statement on a Federal Income Tax Return.
During 2017 and 2018, Randy James was employed by the City of Bay Springs, Mississippi, as City Clerk, and had control over certain financial aspects of the city. During this time, James embezzled just over $300,000 from Bay Springs between August 2017 and April 2018 by creating fraudulent invoices from fictitious companies for the costs of false services that were never approved or incurred by the city. James diverted city funds by obtaining checks from the City of Bay Springs, cashing the checks at a local bank, and wiring those funds overseas to international scammers in the hope of winning money in a lottery scheme.
According to the Criminal Information filed in this case, James also made false statements on his personal 2018 Federal Income Tax Return by under-reporting gross receipts by $193,331.00.
The State Auditor’s Office previously issued a demand letter to James for $325,562 which included the amount of his embezzlement, plus interest and investigative costs. In his publicly filed plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, James agreed to pay a total of $420,562 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation displayed in this case. The case was investigated by the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office and by agents for the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.
17 comments:
“said Demetrius Hardeman, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS CI Atlanta Field Office. “No public official gets a free pass to ignore the tax laws“
You sure about that Demetrius?
Mississippi idiot. They all think that if you "know" someone (wink, nod, smile) then you're safe, and can do whatever you want. Dirt dumb rednecks. Truly....and most are in the legislature.
Funny how this is happening over and over and over across the state. Almost as if it is a systemic problem. Maybe Mr State Auditor could look into recommending a change to where 1 person isn’t carrying around the check book for the whole town. But probably not because too many people benefit from this. Look at how many businesses across the state have these amorphous names such as “engineering services” “administrative services”, “personnel services”...kind of perfect for a non-descript ledger entry.
Those Nigerian princes are liars, damn liars.
Under reported income of nearly two hundred thousand dollars!! Bay Springs appears to pay employees very, very well. Or, did he win that lottery?
I wonder what local bank kept cashing these checks for him?
I wonder just how in the hell a jailed city clerk from Bay Springs who thought a Nigerian Prince is going to give him millions is going to pay that $420k restitution back? I would like to see the numbers on how much of that kind of stuff is ever paid back.
What a dumb ass! He would have been way better off buying a few cars and taking some nice vacations.
You owe taxes on fraudulent income as well as legit. Tax man cometh......
It NEVER stops-
he was just ''borrowing'' that money. ............he was gonna put it back. all this is the fault of law enforcement for arresting him before he had the opportunity to put it back.....you people a heartless.
special agent hardeman says ''no one gets a free pass on tax evasion''........obviously he has never heard of charles rangel.
You can't fix stupid!
That looks like the outfit I wore when I was a blackjack dealer in a Mississippi Casina sans the bowtie.
@9:33 AM - nor "Rev" Al Sharpton.
I don't see the big deal. This has been going on since the County Tax Assessor in Port Gibson, Evan Doss, in '73 and the Chancery Clerk in Washington County, Robert Taylor, in '76. It's bidness as usual, fifty years later. One was Chairman of the First Baptist Deacons and the other was a well-respected 'community leader' and 'mentor to youth'.
They all think they're entitled to 'borrow' and 'pay it back a little late on'.
In Madison County, it's resulted in a suicide or two.
" A city clerk from Bay Springs . . . and a Nigerian Prince "
I never thought I would read those words within the same sentence.
But it is still 2020.
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