JACKSON- Special agents with the State Auditor’s Office arrested Linda Gavagnie on Monday, January 25, and served her with an indictment on the charge of embezzlement.

Based on the evidence collected by the Auditor’s Office, it is alleged that Gavagnie embezzled over $22,000 by making false entries into financial records of the school and transferring funds into accounts to hide the funds that she had taken.

“In a time when state and local government entities are looking at ways to reduce costs and cut their budgets, it is disappointing that the number of cases of embezzlement continues to grow,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “In this case, our investigation shows that the embezzlement began as far back as 2002. Our agents determined that Linda Gavagnie embezzled over $22,000 from the school district.”

This indictment makes the 57th individual since 2008 that has been indicted following an investigation by the State Auditor’s Office and is awaiting trial. Since Auditor Pickering took office, 40 individuals have pled or been found guilty and were sentenced to 272 years as a result of their crime, an average of 6.8 years per individual.

Gavagnie, 55 of Bay St. Louis, was the finance manager for the Bay-Waveland School District from January 2004 – September 21, 2007, when she resigned.

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