County Official In Mississippi Indicted In $300K Embezzlement Conspiracy Case

From WTVA on 12/4/2014:

CORINTH, Miss. (WTVA) -- Five people, including an Alcorn County supervisor and the purchasing clerk, have been indicted in connection with an investigation into the embezzlement of county taxpayer money.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering announced 259 indictments had been handed down in connection with the year-long investigation into the case.

District Two Supervisor Jimmy Nelms, 47, of Glen faces 156 counts, including embezzlement and forgery.

Pickering says Nelms is accused of creating a scheme to collect payments from county vendors in exchange for getting county business.

He is also accused of billing the county for work that was never performed and rental equipment that was never actually rented.

Nelms is also accused of using fraudulent bidders to drive up the price of equipment bought by the county and using the county charge accounts to buy items for his home.

Pickering has issued a demand for Nelms to repay over $300,000 to the county, and he faces 600 years in prison if convicted.

Purchasing Clerk William Paul Rhodes, 55, of Corinth faces a 13 count indictment in connection with the investigation and has been asked to repay over $77,000 to the county. 

He faces 60 years in prison if convicted.

Jimmy Ray Mitchell, 43, of Corinth, Joseph Lin McNair, Jr. 39, of Glen and Danny Roy Peters, 61, of Corinth also face multiple indictments in connection with the investigation.

The three are county vendors and face 150 years in prison if convicted.