Stone County’s former circuit clerk charged with embezzling in public corruption case
Former Stone County Circuit Clerk Jeffrey O’Neal was arrested Monday on felony charges of embezzlement by a public employee for allegedly using some money he collected in his position to enrich his own life.
Coast authorities arrested O’Neal on Monday morning at his place of employment in Wiggins, according to authorities.
His arrest came following his indictment on three counts of embezzlement by a public employee and one count of embezzlement. The indictment was returned on Sept. 21 and became public when it was served to the former clerk Monday.
According to the charging documents, O’Neal is accused between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2018, of using an unspecified amount of public money he collected as a clerk for his own use.
For example, O’Neal is accused between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 13, 2018, of embezzling restitution payments offenders made to the clerk’s office and then spending the money on personal expenses.
In other cases between Nov. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2018, O’Neal took in election-related payments to the clerk’s office and converted the money to his own use.
Judge Larry Bourgeois set O’Neal’s bond at a total of $40,000.
He is set to go to court on Jan. 10 in Stone County for a status conference in his case.
Supervisors asked for repayment
Agents from the auditor’s office also issued individual demand letters to three current members and two former members of the Stone County Board of Supervisors. They are:
- Supervisor Clark Byrd – $36,085.32
- Supervisor Lance Pearson – $29,805.33
- Supervisor Daniel Harris – $24,698.22
- Former Supervisor Dale Bond – $36,085.32
- Former Supervisor Scott Strickland – $28,758.53
The amounts represent money improperly paid to O’Neal by the Board of Supervisors, State Auditor Shad White said in a news release Monday.
“Each demand amount is calculated based on the votes made by the Board members and includes interest and investigative expenses,” the statement said “These demands are not accompanied by criminal allegations.”
All of the supervisors are coverd by $100,000 surety bonds, which is “similar to insurance and is designed to protect taxpayers from embezzlement and corruption.”
If no payment is made within 30 days, White said, the Attorney General’s office is required to file a civil suit to recover the money on behalf of taxpayers.
The target of scrutiny by authorities early-on
O’Neal first became the target of scrutiny in 2019 after he failed to file annual financial reports that state law mandates from Chancery and Circuit clerks.
The clerks pay themselves from fees their offices generate, but they must show in their financial reports the income and expenses for each year to justify the fees paid to them.
O’Neal failed to turn in financial reports on time in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Circuit Judge Christopher Schmidt found O’Neal in civil contempt in April 2019 for failure to generate the annual reports. The contempt citation was later dropped after O’Neal assured the judge he would be turning in all the required reports.
But in November 2019, Shad White issued a subpoena and court order to O’Neal for his annual financial reports from 2016 and 2017. He had also missed the April deadline for submitting the 2018 financial report.
O’Neal’s attorney told Schmidt in a hearing that O’Neal had since filed both his 2016 and 2017 reports and would turn in the 2018 report shortly thereafter.
The state auditor’s office did a review of the reports O’Neal eventually submitted to uncover the alleged misuse of public money.
Elected to circuit clerk
O’Neal took office as Stone County circuit clerk in 2016.
In the years that followed, when a judge questioned him about his failure to file the annual financial reports for 2016, 2017 and 2018, he long held that there was no missing money but that “I just was negligent in filing my reports.”
In a 2019 interview with the Sun Herald, O’Neal had described the reports as “real involved” and said, “I should have hired someone to help me with it, and I didn’t. I’m human and I made a mistake.”
In one order issued by Schmidt on April 22, 2019, the judge told O’Neal he could resolve his contempt citation if he delivered the reports to the state auditor’s office by noon that following Tuesday.
The contempt citation was ultimately dropped in June 2019 after O’Neal turned in two of the reports and promised to turn in the last one from 2018 shortly thereafter.
Holding fee-paid officials accountable
The purpose of the annual financial reports filed by Chancery and Circuit clerks is to ensure officer-holders are entitled to the fees they are paying themselves, the state auditor’s office told the Sun Herald.
The reports hold fee-paid officials accountable, and the majority of clerks in Mississippi do follow the law and turn in the reports, Kelley Ryan, a spokesperson for White’s office, told the Sun Herald in 2019.
Before his election to circuit clerk, O’Neal was a Justice Court judge, a position that requires a high school degree and six months of training after taking office.
O’Neal told the Sun Herald in earlier interviews he had a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness and had worked for years as a wholesaler selling cigarette lighters, gloves and miscellaneous goods to convenience stores before taking over as a justice court judge.
If convicted on all counts, O’Neal faces up to 70 years in prison and $16,000 in fines.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 1:25 PM.
