Auditor Arrests Former Community College Employee for Embezzlement

JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White announced Special Agents from his office have arrested former Northeast Mississippi Community College employee, Amy Haynie, after she was indicted for embezzlement. Haynie was issued a $68,762.87 demand letter upon her arrest. That demand total includes interest and investigative expense.
Continue Reading

Auditor Arrests Former Caledonia Water Department Supervisor

JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White announced Special Agents from his office have arrested a former supervisor for the City of Caledonia water department, Barrett Baggett, after he was indicted for embezzlement. Baggett was issued a demand letter for $3,125.66 upon his arrest. Interest and investigative expenses are included in the demand amount.
Continue Reading

Auditor Arrests Municipal Court Clerk in Macon for Embezzlement

JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White announced Special Agents from his office have arrested City of Macon Municipal Court Clerk, Yolanda Atkins, after she was indicted for embezzlement. A $4,450.79 demand letter was issued to Atkins at the time of her arrest. Investigative costs and interest are included in the demand amount.
Continue Reading

Jackson Public Schools’ JROTC Program Earns Top Marks

JACKSON, Miss. – Jackson is home to a nationally-recognized Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) program that boosts the graduation rates and ACT scores of its participants, according to a report released today by State Auditor Shad White. Students enrolled in the JROTC program at Jackson Public Schools (JPS) are also more likely to be accepted to college than other JPS students.
Continue Reading

State Auditor Shad White Responds to MDE Statement

JACKSON, Miss. – State Auditor Shad White has issued the following statement:

“Yesterday my team and I wrote a letter that pointed out that the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) was ignoring the law on COVID-19 stimulus money for technology.
Continue Reading

Palmertree Receives National Award from CPA Organization

Stephanie Palmertree recognized as most outstanding government CPA at the state level

JACKSON, Miss. – State Auditor Shad White is proud to announce the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has awarded Stephanie Palmertree the 2020 Outstanding CPA in Government Impact Award at the State Level. Palmertree is the Director of the Financial & Compliance Audit Division at the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.
Continue Reading

Auditors Arrest Former Columbus Chief Financial Officer for Embezzlement

Milton Rawle is accused of embezzling nearly $300,000

JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White announced Special Agents from his office have arrested former City of Columbus Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle, Jr. after he was indicted for embezzlement by a grand jury in the district of District Attorney Scott Colom. Upon his arrest, Rawle was issued a demand showing he owes $354,896.27 to taxpayers in Columbus. This amount includes interest and investigative expenses.
Continue Reading

Reports Show Education Data Can be More Accurate

JACKSON, Miss. – Some public school records may be incomplete or contain errors, potentially skewing school program assessments or affecting local school district funding. Two reports released by State Auditor Shad White’s office today offer recommendations to ensure Mississippi public schools produce and report accurate data.
Continue Reading

State Auditor Releases CARES Act Audit Plan

JACKSON, Miss. – State Auditor Shad White has released his plan to audit over $1.25 billion sent to Mississippi as part of the CARES Act, the COVID-19 federal stimulus money. The five-part plan is meant to prevent fraud in Mississippi.  
Continue Reading

State Auditor Releases Annual Exceptions Report

Money returned to taxpayers increased by over 350%

JACKSON, Miss. – State Auditor Shad White’s office returned over $5.6 million to taxpayers last fiscal year. According to the Audit Exceptions Report for Fiscal Year 2020, released today, the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor more than tripled the amount of money it returned to taxpayers compared to last year.
Continue Reading