JACKSON, Miss. – Today State Auditor Shad White announced Joe Edney has been convicted of embezzlement in Judge Charles E. Webster’s court chambers in Tunica County. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office.
“This is another successful investigation, followed by a guilty plea, from the team in the Auditor’s office,” said Auditor Shad White. “We will continue to build strong embezzlement cases around the state so that your money is protected.”
Edney is a former investigator for the district attorney in the 11th Circuit Court District, and he was arrested by Special Agents from the State Auditor’s office in October 2019 after being indicted. He used his position overseeing a pre-trial diversion program to deposit public money meant to pay court fees into his own personal bank account.
A date for a sentencing hearing has not yet been set. However, the State Auditor’s office has already recovered the full amount listed in the demand letter issued to Edney – over $14,000 – and returned it to the district attorney’s office.
“We are pleased to work with Auditor White’s office in this and other cases to protect Mississippi taxpayers from fraud and abuse," said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. "Violating the taxpayers’ trust like this simply will not be tolerated.”
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or via telephone during normal business hours at 1-(800)-321-1275.
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Shad White was appointed 42nd State Auditor of Mississippi in July 2018 and won election to the office after establishing a tough, no-nonsense reputation during his first year on the job. Before becoming Auditor, White served as Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute, a conservative public interest law institute. He holds a certificate in forensic accounting and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. White has also practiced law in the private sector, served as a special prosecutor, and taught as an adjunct professor. The son of an oilfield pumper and school teacher, White grew up in rural Jones County and went on to earn degrees from Ole Miss, the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and Harvard Law School. Today he, his wife Rina, and their daughter live in Rankin County and attend St. Richard Church.