State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement.
Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Special Agents from his office have arrested Shannon Wilburn, former Benton County Tax Assessor, on one count of embezzlement in public office. Wilburn is accused of taking more than $300,000 in daily collections paid to the Benton County Tax Collector’s office for his own personal use. “The dedicated team at the State Auditor’s Office will continue to work closely with prosecutors to get record results, one case at a time,” said State Auditor Shad White.
Wilburn faces up to $5,000 in fines and 20 years if convicted. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. A $200,000 surety bond covers Wilburn’s employment as the Benton County Tax Assessor. Surety bonds are similar to insurance designed to protect taxpayers from corruption. Benton County also has an insurance policy that covers theft.
Kingfish note: The amount embezzled was $327,055.
28 comments:
The cost of recovery for $300,000 is almost half the cost of recovery for $10,000.
Third world counties are a target rich environment for theft by public employees. "We don't need checks and balances because he is 'a good ole boy'."
Makes NO sense! He stole over $300,000 & will only have to pay back $5,000 at most?!?!
Collecting on these surety bonds and insurance policies for the interest and investigative costs! Anyone notice a pattern? Soon, you won't be able to get a public official's surety bond in the state of Mississippi. I would like Shad to do a graph on those arrested with surety bonds, vs those without. Now, I am not making light of the POS public officials that are stealing, I am not doing that. However, there seems to be more arrested that have bonds and insurance than those without. I sure that "collectability" has something to do with it. That can't just be random luck.
Lynn Finch needs to put these public offical behind bars. But she won't She a good ole boy!
You're 'sure', are you?
Name the types of public officials who are not bonded?
@3:37
He faces up to $5,000 in fines in addition to any court ordered restitution.
in his mug shot he has the look of ''i can't believe i got caught''.
4:01 I do believe you're the good ole boy.
That would be "Fitch." You need a period after won't, and you need an apostrophe ('s) after She.
For all of you defenders of Shad, this is proof yet again that he and his office can arrest those accused of violating the public trust. If he can get the little fish, he can certainly get the big fish - if he had the intestinal fortitude to do so.
Taking that 90 minute drive to Tunica Casino’s is costly! Gambling, Sugar-daddy or just greedy! A small county of Benton that’s a lot of money!
Why didn’t his special agents arrest former Pearl PD chief Dean Scott, the former Richland mayor and the Rankin County Tax Assessor who approved the two’s no show jobs?
Instead he handed the case over to the Rankin County District Attorney, who cowardly passed the case along to Lynn Fitch where it can go to die.
Rankin County voter’s please remember this when you are asked for your vote by these elected officials. Rankin County tax payers had tens of thousands of dollars STOLEN from them with no one held accountable.
Now wait one minute Dean Scott is working for Capitol Police so his pay can be garnished in the future if found guilty in a court of law. Isn’t that what was reported?
I’m no legal person, but where can I get a job making/stealing $300,000 and I give them back $5000? Sign me up
Mississippi is not a poor state. There's plenty of money, it's just all being stolen.
@6:49 PM - read the demand letter! The demand is for $358,096.40, not $5,000!!!
The Shadster's signature looks like something you'd get by asking a Lamborghini-driving sports star to sign your shoe. I'm not referring to the illegibility. I know a fair number of doctors, lawyers, and other such folks, and I'm one myself - my own sig is not particularly legible. I'm referring to the, well, big ol' self-aggrandizing, hasty-autograph "swooshiness" of it. Shit, I don't know, maybe he gets mobbed by requests from rabid fans to autograph printouts of their Excel license or something.
I guarantee you a woman is involved, hope she was worth it.
He needs to ditch that shirt, pink is not a good color for him.
Turns out Shad can set the hook on a big fish after all!
One thing I have always noticed about Shad's press releases. He never tells us how these people do these things. Why, Shad?
Tax Assessors do not handle money. He stole the money as Tax Collector.
12:11am if that’s true, she is on to another politician with unlimited resources.
Just wondering how the Tax Assessor had access to funds from the Tax Collectors office?
Waiting on the State Auditors office to recoup the salary, expenses & book sales from ole Shad during the writing & promotion of his book. Maybe the MS Attorney General & the Federal Attorney should investigate ole Shad.
Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Special Agents from his office have arrested Shannon Wilburn, former Benton County Tax Assessor, on one count of embezzlement in public office.
I think I have read somewhere that Shad could not arrest anyone. That seems to be his go to statement when he is asked why someone got away with millions of tax payers dollars. What is the truth? Who is telling a lie?
He turned himself in!?! https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-benton-county-tax-assessor-embezzlement-cb6dd0e16332559529feb2661fb9bd8c
For those asking about assessor vs collector, many counties have a joint position instead of separate.
Post a Comment