State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement yesterday.
Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Shannon Wilburn, former Benton County Tax Collector, has pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement. Wilburn took 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 has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and we will continue to work with prosecutors to get record results,” said State Auditor Shad White.
Wilburn was prosecuted in the Benton County Circuit Court. Wilburn was sentenced to ten years with nine suspended, one year of house arrest, five years post-release supervision, and has been ordered to pay $158,096 in restitution. Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or calling 1-(800)-321-1275 during normal business hours.
Kingfish note: The bonding company paid the rest of the embezzled funds. It will probably in turn sue Wilburn.
26 comments:
Sweet deal. No time in jail and pay back half of the money.
Behold, that's actually a decent-sized fish right there.
Steal 300 pay back 158?
The math ain’t mathing on the money stolen and restitution. Also, steal 300k from the public, 1 year house arrest. Steal a car… 10 years in prison.
A year vacation at the house and only repaying half? What’s the rest of the story?
Wait a minute....he stole over $300k yet only has to pay $150k back. He was sentenced to 10 years but will only serve one year at his house? I want that judge and his attorney if I run afoul of the law. I am of his exact demographic and know the ways things can work in MS, but my goodness. I have never seen such a rigged "punishment." I'd wager the judge and attorney attended law school together and both got a taste of that $150k that isn't coming back.
What judge and DA agreed to this? The folks who stole 5,000 have to pay back 10k most of the time due to the Auditor and Investigative fees and most spend a month or two in jail. This guy gets house arrest and comes out 142k to the positive?!
A tax collector would have had a surety bond, probably making up the difference.
i can just look at this guy and tell he drives a $135,000 twin cab pickup with a yeti cooler sticker on the rear windshield.
He was represented by Tony Farese, so there was probably a little home cooking going on.
His bond paid the other half. The company will try and go after him for the money.
Bonding company paid the rest of it. I’ll update the post.
I like to stay at home. Get paid to stay at home would be a dream. Is his job open?
But everybody is doing it, including 1,000s of WDC bureaucrats and pols.
Where are people coming up with the notion that this fool will "get paid to sit at home?" He has been convicted of a felony. His position as tax collector is now vacant and he is not entitled to be paid anything as if he was still the tax collector.
It's so easy to stop this kind of shit. Just take the entire $ 300,000.00 plus the investigative costs from his PERS account, pay him any remaining amount and he no longer gets a retirement. Do this and I promise these types of cases will go to almost zero.
Will you please get off Shads d!€¥ KF?
He looks like the enforcer for the tax department. Gambling habit?
With home confinement he can run an internet scam.
Maybe the ex Madison county collector will be next.
Low hanger. No Phil no Pulitzer
Chowke: "Only $300,000? Slacker! Lightweight! Rookie!"
The north Mississippi bumpkin wasteland. I can't believe this redneck gets no time in a correctional setting. Two tiered justice system.
He’s white and from bubbaville, and this is Mississippi. What else do you need to know?
And the little fish caught a bigger fish, but had to spit it out.
He has already been paid. 300k. Now he gets to set at home.
Shad needs to establish a DOdGE team to clean up MS govt.
Post a Comment