JACKSON, Miss. – State Auditor Shad White today announced the release of an annual report listing the instances of misappropriation, misspending, or theft of public funds over the last fiscal year. The Audit Exceptions Report for Fiscal Year 2019 shows the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor issued 64 formal demands – 24 more than the previous year – and identified over $4.6 million to be returned to taxpayers.

Exceptions refer to accounting errors or violations of the law which result in misappropriation, misspending, or theft. The status of each exception made by audits and investigations in FY 2019 and those issued previously and still pending full repayment are listed by county in the report. The Auditor’s office recovered over $1.5 million from individuals involved in these cases last year.

“The 130 men and women of the auditor’s office are dedicated to stopping public money from being stolen or going to the wrong place. This report represents a year of hard work by our investigations division,” said Auditor White. “For the next few months, we’ll continue with new investigations but we’ll also focus on collecting the misappropriated or stolen money that we’ve identified in this report. It’s been an honor for us to work for you, the taxpayers, for the last year, and we’ll continue to be aggressive and have zero tolerance for theft for as long as I’m in this office.” The 2019 Exceptions Report is available for viewing online at the OSA website.