State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement.
Today
State Auditor Shad White announced Special Agents from his office have
arrested Kathy Smith after she was indicted for embezzlement. Smith is a
former municipal court clerk for the City of Houston in
Chickasaw County. A demand letter showing she owes $131,697.00 was
presented to her upon arrest. The demand amount includes interest and
investigative expenses.
Smith is accused of embezzling cash and money orders meant to pay fines levied in Houston Municipal Court. To conceal the embezzlement, she allegedly manipulated records in computer software used to track court-ordered fines. Smith purportedly manipulated records to show payments made by “public works” although no fines were actually paid by public works from January 2013 to April 2018, the timeframe of the alleged embezzlement.
Smith surrendered to Special Agents at the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office. Her bond amount was set at $25,000 by the court.
“It’s
been a busy month for the Office of the State Auditor, and I’m grateful
for the diligent work of our investigators during that time,” said
Auditor White. “Every local government office needs
to take a lesson from this case. Do not put one person in charge of too
much. And call us if you suspect embezzlement. We will continue to
identify theft and recover taxpayer dollars.”
If
convicted, Smith faces up to 20 years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are
presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of
law. The case will be prosecuted by the office of District Attorney
Benjamin Creekmore.
A
$50,000 surety bond covers Smith’s employment as municipal court clerk
in Houston. Surety bonds are similar to insurance designed to protect
taxpayers from corruption. Smith will remain liable
for the full amount of the demand in addition to criminal proceedings.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or via telephone during normal business hours at 1-(800)-321-1275.
24 comments:
She appears to be “pissed off.”
Need to clone Shad White & install him in every branch of state & Federal govt. Just sayng.
Get After It, Shadrack!
Now, let's hear from the low-hanging fruit clown in 3..2..1
I bet she drove an Audi crossover with a 30A sticker.
Damn, Karen!
Some white collar crime going down right under the nose of the AG's former outpost in the same city.
This small towns are a target rich environment for employee thieves. If their supervisors/managers had to pay also maybe they would meet their fiduciary responsibilities with proper checks & balances and general oversight.
Like someone said from another similar Shad post, "Does it never end?"
Apparently there aren't enough sugar daddy's left...
My question is the same as 9:42 a.m.
Former employees/supporters of Hood are mighty quiet. Girls Club commenters, where yall at? With all the coverage of Shad lately, surprised no one wants to hate on Pickering for obviously not investigating these people...
That look is a “Damn! They bought me.” Look.
10:42 says his question is the same as 9:42 but 9:42 asked no question. Where is Kingfish getting these posters?
The vast majority of these cases stem from a fellow worker confidentially turning in coworkers. Of course for the system to work (and it is working now in Mississippi) you have ti have a leader like Shad who has earned the trust. There are readers of these posts out there who can easily report transgressions.
"Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays."
Hey Kathy, tell Lamar Adams hello.
Oh man that’s awesome (Don’t put one person in charge of too much). Is this office even open in Jackson? I pretty sure there’s a lot of people there that been put in charge of too much in the capital. I do love that innocent until proven guilty line. That’s why they arrest you and throw you in jail until you post bond.
awesome! he’s the real deal. one corrupt person at a time..
I guess everyone is choosing not to remember the dive your brave young anti-corruption hawk took for Brett Favre.
Glenn Boyce acquired some state money under some questionable circumstances, too, but hasn’t heard from Shadrack.
@6:03 - Please send Shad to Oxford so that he can recover our tax dollars from "Chancellor" Boyce. The Ole Miss alumni would certainly consider a sizable donation to his next campaign if he could eliminate this clown from what was once the "Flagship".
The real question is at 11:42.
I don't know what the answer is!
Canton Shad, Canton.
Shad is the Best!
@ 1:31 Hi Shad.
You watch, this woman will go to prison, while Congressman Palazzo who reportedly misused funds will simply pay the $ back with other ill gotten funds.
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