JACKSON, MISS– State Auditor Stacey Pickering has released the 2016 Annual Audit Exceptions report.
This report is required by state law to showcase the work of the auditor’s office, and to inform the public of what stolen or misappropriated funds have been collected.
“It’s around $2 million dollars this year,” said Pickering.
An audit exception is defined as a violation of the law or an accounting error that resulted in misappropriation or an incorrect expenditure of public funds. The money has to be repaid.
The total amount of funds recovered by the Office of the State Auditor was $1,934,798.46.
Some of the highest totals of stolen or misappropriated funds listed in the report are shown to be from former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps for the amount of just over $1.8 million; Brandon businessman Cecil McCrory for providing kickbacks to Epps reaching $2.3 million; and to former McComb court clerk Greta Patterson for over one million.
The state report even included lost equipment funds down to the penny, with the smallest amount collected being from Southern Miss for $4.93.
The full report is available here.
