A Mississippi State University professor has been arrested and charged with embezzlement after allegedly sending $39,000 in scholarship money to his spouse.
According to a report from the school’s police department, Dr. Gary Packwood of Columbus is accused of stealing the money from 2018 to 2022 and sending it to his spouse, who was not an eligible candidate to receive such funds. An internal audit uncovered the fraud.
Packwood is a professor of music, program administrator, and director of choral studies. The university’s website says that the 55-year-old has over three decades of teaching under his belt, previously teaching at the University of Montevallo and Louisiana State University.
Mississippi State’s director of public affairs, Sid Salter, told WTVA that Packwood is currently on paid administrative leave.
