State Auditor White catches another official in Mississippi

State Auditor Shad White announced that former District Secretary for the Holmes County Water and Soil Conservation District Melissa Upchurch has pled guilty to Embezzlement. Agents arrested Upchurch in June 2023 and served her with a $48,160.08 demand letter.

Upchurch is guilty of issuing and depositing district checks into her bank account from June 2020 to September 2022.

“Thank you to the investigators who worked this matter,” said State Auditor Shad White. “We’ve now recovered more taxpayer money in the last five years than any other five-year period in the history of the office, and we’re not stopping.”

Upchurch was sentenced by the Holmes County Circuit Court to 5 years of house arrest, five years of supervised probation, and five years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay restitution and fines.

Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or by telephone during normal business hours at 1 (800)-321-1275.