Another Jackson County Embezzlement Charge Investigation By Auditor Pickering Results In An Arrest

State Auditor Stacey Pickering, center, speaks at a press event
Tuesday at the Jackson County Courthouse in Pascagola with
Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence, left, and
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd.

Seems like the State Auditor has been busy on the Gulf Coast for the past several months, and the work is now bearing fruit. This is the second announcement of an arrest in as many days.

Former court clerk Diehl surrenders to police
Former Pascagoula court clerk Rhonda Diehl surrendered to authorities after being indicted on three counts of embezzlement, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said this morning.

A city employee for 25 years, Diehl is accused of stealing a total of $17,175 over a three-year period while serving as the city's court clerk. She resigned in January, Pascagoula Police Chief Kenny Johnson said, at the conclusion of their investigation.


The city began an internal investigation after noticing irregularities in the city court funds. They called on Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence and State Auditor Stacey Pickering to assist in the investigation, which ultimately led to authorities identifying Diehl as a suspect.


The city, Johnson said, has since put in place additional precautionary measures to "quickly" detect any type of embezzlement involving city funds.


As for Diehl's arrest, Johnson said, "it's a shame."


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A report this morning on yesterday's arrest in the Mississippi Press said:

There are two other pending embezzlement cases in Jackson County.


One involves two suspects and an undisclosed amount of misappropriated money from the Jackson County Fair Commission, which Pickering said he could not comment on because the investigation was ongoing. The missing funds were discovered in August 2009.

Sounds like we can expect at least one more arrest, and another very big feather for the Auditor's cap.

Auditor Pickering issues demand for $1.2 Million against former Jackson County Employee

Former Jackson Co. clerk accused of stealing $890,000

A former Jackson County employee is charged with embezzling $890,000. The indictment against Ginger Lashley, 50, released Tuesday accuses her of using her position as a clerk to steal money from 2001 until November 2009 when she was fired and arrested.

The indictment alleges Lashley diverted county money into a personal savings account at a local bank. That account, entitled "Jackson County Food Drive," received regular deposits of county checks according to court papers.


Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said bank officials became suspicious of the account in 2009 and alerted investigators. Byrd said the frequency and size of the deposits seemed suspect. He added there is no official county account for a "Jackson County Food Drive."


Lashley was first accused last year of stealing $125,000 of county money. However, as investigators dug deeper, the amount of money that disappeared from county coffers grew.


State Auditor Stacy Pickering said his office issued a demand against Lashley for $1,232,579.73, which includes the amount she is accused embezzling along with investigative costs.


"This is one of the largest embezzlement cases we've investigated by the State Auditor's Office and represents a significant loss to taxpayers of Jackson County," Pickering said.


Jackson County Board President Mike Mangum said since the investigation started, the County has implemented safe guards to prevent this type of activity from happening again.


"As public servants, we take this situation very seriously and understand our first responsibility is to be good stewards of the taxpayer's money," Mangum said.


Lashley began working for the county in 1998. Investigators say the embezzlement began in 2001 when Lashley was working in the Accounts Payable office.


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