Man charged in Hinds County embezzlement scheme pleads guilty…

JACKSON, Miss. — A man charged in connection with a Hinds County embezzlement scheme has been ordered to repay thousands of dollars in restitution.

Cedric Cornelius pleaded guilty Monday to various counts of bribery of a public official, conspiracy to make/submit fraudulent statements to the government, making/submitting false statements to defraud the government, and making/submitting false writings to defraud the government.

Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II said the plea deal was part of the ongoing investigation into the misappropriation of Hinds County funds during the 2020 election. District 2 Election Commissioner Toni Johnson is one of those charged in the case. Johnson is yet to stand trial.

State Auditor Shad White said Cornelius used his company, Apogee Group II, LLC, to work with an election commissioner to be paid without work being performed.

As part of the plea agreement, Cornelius will be required to pay restitution of $170,946 with $50,000 on or before Jan. 20.

“The fact that the majority of the funds misappropriated in this case were intended to help ensure the safety of Hinds County voters during the pandemic makes this crime particularly heinous,” Owens said. “We will not tolerate public corruption in Hinds County.”

Cornelius’s plea follows the guilty plea of Sudie Jones-Teague, another co-conspirator. Both have agreed to testify in the ongoing Hinds County Election Commission case. Sentencing will be held at a later date.

Auditor’s office demands $1.9m from private prison operator who…

MARSHALL CO., Miss. (WLBT) – State Auditor Shad White has demanded nearly $2 million dollars from a private prison operator after the company understaffed a Marshall County facility, which violated the terms of its contract.

White said agents served Management & Training Corporation (MTC) with a civil demand totaling nearly $2 million.

MTC developed minimum mandatory staffing levels risking the safety of inmates and prison staff.

The company also failed to appropriately notify and credit the Mississippi Department of Corrections when its staffing levels fell below the minimum amount required by the contract.

The Auditor’s demand accounts for nearly 12,000 unfilled mandatory shifts at the Marshall County facility from 2017 to 2020.

“This is one of the larger demands we’ve issued in my time in office. Our investigators have proven we will take on the biggest cases down to the smallest to protect taxpayer dollars,” said Auditor White. “We look forward to a swift recovery of these funds.”

If the company does not make payment on the demand within 30 days, the case will be transmitted to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for litigation.

 

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