State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement.
Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Hope Bishop, former Vice President of Human Resources at the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, has pleaded guilty to embezzlement. Bishop was arrested in November of 2023.
Bishop is accused of giving herself unauthorized raises. The Lottery Corporation staff discovered Bishop’s embezzlement and reported it to the State Auditor’s office when they were improving lottery operations. The Corporation has now put into place additional controls to prevent embezzlement in the future. Bishop was served with a $187,738.85 demand at the time of her arrest.
Bishop had no access to the gaming side of lottery operations, so her actions did not affect the integrity of lottery games.
“I’m thankful for the efforts of the investigators, prosecutors, and the lottery corporation for the joint work required to bring this case to a close,” said State Auditor Shad White.
Bishop was prosecuted by the Rankin County District Attorney’s Office. Bishop was sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, 15 years suspended, and 5 years house arrest followed by 5 years of supervised probation. Fines, fees, and investigative costs were also ordered.
An insurance policy covered Bishop’s employment at the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.
Kingfish note: She will probably be released after serving 25% of the 5 year sentence of house arrest.
17 comments:
Low hanging fruit comment in 3, 2, 1...
Kingfish. I love you blog. But this lady is not serving a day in jail. The 5 years is on House arrest with 15 years suspended. There is no jail time for her at all. It's amazing how the justice system works in some peoples favor while hanging others out to dry
5 years in jail + 5 years house arrest? Or did she just get 5 years house arrest?
It's amazing how some folks get little or no time when embezzling money. It's called "W .... privilege"
There is someone responsible for signing off on her time, why is her supervisor not prosecuted?
What are the rules if you are under house arrest?
May I suggest vertical stripes. They might be more flattering to her somewhat ample figure.
I understand being upset over no real jail time. But also consider who pays the $60,000 per year in costs to incarcerate a person. You and me.
Someone that brazen should have to do time in prison. My guess is that this isn’t the first time this lady has done something like this. Former employers should take a hard look at her records as well.
8:52...Reminds of you of all that B.... privilege in Hinds county don't it? Where murderers, rapists, etc roam free while out on perpetual bond while continuing to murder, rape, and pillage? The "justice" system is broken for all of us.
Give credit when credit is due. That was a good lick.
"...integrity of lottery games." As if!
@5:35
Your comment about incarceration costs is valid, except for the cost. The average cost (from minimum security to maximum security) is about $59 per day, or about $21,500 per year. She would be minimum security, so the costs would be less. Still a good point though.
https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/rpt679.pdf
It was a good lick and 8:28 made me giggle.
What is the point of a 20-year sentence — oooh, sounds like a long time behind bars — when 15 years are just stripped off the sentence and thrown away and the remaining five years are reduced to house arrest? Why not let’s the people running the “criminal justice” scam just be above board and tell us that felony embezzlement is de facto a misdemeanor offense scarcely worse than a traffic ticket?
Someone please explain how literal house arrest is..? How confining is it really? Assuming they're able to go out but have an ankle monitor?
When is our stupid legislature going to learn that you don't use non-profits to handle the people's money. You lose all control and protections for the taxpayers.
Magnolia Venture Capital Corporation
Mississippi Community Education Center
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
Waiting for the new Wildlife Federation and Human Trafficking non-prifits.
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