Former Mississippi Junior college employee accused of embezzling over $90K from school

A former Jones County Junior College employee is expected to plead guilty to embezzlement charges today in Circuit Court.

A spokesperson for the Jones County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that Tracy Laird, 39, of Ellisville, is charged with embezzling over $90,000 from the school while working there between May 1999 and Feb. 27 of last year.
According to court documents, Laird was forced to pay $109,407.96. More than $90,000 of the funds demanded were principal, and the remaining $18,870 represented interest, services performed by a contracted CPA firm and additional investigative costs.
Because Laird was a bonded employee, the college did not lose any of the money she is charged with embezzling.
In a statement following the arrest, State Auditor Stacey Pickering praised Jones County Junior College for handling the matter appropriately.
“I commend the leadership at Jones County Junior College for their efforts in uncovering this scheme to defraud the taxpayers of Mississippi and their proactive efforts to prevent this type of situation from happening in the future,” said Pickering, noting the number of embezzlement cases has climbed due to the poor economy.