JACKSON- State Auditor Stacey Pickering announced today that Victoria Nealy, former Criminal Deputy Clerk in Lauderdale County Justice Court plead guilty in an open plea arrangement to embezzlement by a public official.

Special agents with the State Auditor’s Office investigated Nealy after receiving a tip that the defendant was “fixing” tickets and embezzling cash paid to the Justice Court by individuals paying their fines.

Nealy, 42, would receive cash payments from individuals intending to pay their uniform traffic citation; covert the funds to personal use; void the transaction in the computer system and ask the officer issuing the citation to dismiss the ticket.

“This is the second investigation in the past 12 months that involved a justice court clerk embezzling cash paid to the County for traffic citations,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “In both cases our agents were able to work with the Mississippi Highway Patrol to conduct undercover operations which resulted in solid cases. I appreciate the assistance of the Lauderdale County Sheriff  Billy Sollie and Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun. They do an excellent job working with our Agency and protecting the taxpayers of Lauderdale County. ”

Nealy will be sentenced on August 2, 2012 at 2 p.m. in Lauderdale County.

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Attachment: Victoria Nealy