JACKSON- State Auditor Stacey Pickering announced today that Calhoun County Chancery Clerk has resigned following an unannounced visit by special agents with the State Auditor’s Office.

Agents went in to Calhoun County Chancery Clerk’s Office today and conducted a cash count of the Land Redemption account following an allegation of missing funds.

The State Auditor’s Office received information from its audit division that indicated a possible discrepancy in the Land Redemption account. At the conclusion of the cash count, special agents concluded that there was an undetermined amount of money that was unaccounted for in the account. Chancery Clerk Jess Moore has repaid approximately $12,000 in funds taken from the Chancery Clerk’s office that had not been properly deposited into the Land Redemption account.

Moore tendered his resignation to the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors today during an interview with special agents from the State Auditor’s Office. Special agents will immediately begin a full investigation to determine an exact amount of missing funds and loss to the county.

“After the cash count this morning, Chancery Clerk Jess Moore resigned from his position after repaying $12,000 in funds that belonged to the taxpayers of Calhoun County,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “In less than 2 weeks, our office has gone into two counties unannounced to execute a cash count when we suspected wrong doing. Both have resulted in individuals’ removal from office and execution of emergency procedures to ensure taxpayers in both counties were protected. Local governments across Mississippi should be aware that we are looking into other counties and cities where we suspect similar problems may be occurring.”

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