Bill, Scott Walker still owe thousands for their crimes, but stopped paying, records show
As of August 1, Bill Walker still owed almost half a million dollars in restitution and fines for the crimes he committed while serving as executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, court records show.
And he stopped making monthly restitution payments in February, even though a federal judge has already sent him back to prison once for failing to pay $5,000 per month set out in a court order.
Walker’s son, Scott Walker, was supposed to pay at least $750 a month after conviction in the conspiracy with his father. But Scott Walker has not paid monthly restitution from February through at least Aug. 1.
Any payments made after Aug. 1 may not have appeared yet in court ledgers. Neither of the Walkers could be reached to comment on the payments.
While he headed DMR, Bill Walker misspent federal money so a nonprofit group could buy property his son owned. Bill Walker also illegally diverted state and other funds intended for DMR to a nonprofit corporation he set up.
After 11 years as DMR director, he was fired at the end of 2013 amid federal and state investigations that would lead to a five-year prison sentence.
Scott Walker was also convicted on fraud charges in a separate case that involved former D’Iberville City Manager Michael Janus. Scott Walker was sent to prison for 18 months.
Both the Walkers, who are from Ocean Springs, had served their sentences when Bill Walker was hauled into court in September 2018 for failing to make restitution payments. He was sent back to prison for almost two weeks, then released when he agreed to cut personal expenses and pay $5,000 a month toward restitution.
Bill Walker and his wife receive monthly retirement and Social Security income of around $16,623, he told the judge in 2018. He also said that his memory is failing and he relies on his son to pay bills.
Below are the restitution and fines Bill Walker was ordered to pay, including the agency owed, total owed, total paid and amount outstanding:
▪ State of MS (auditor): $362,689.14 owed, $43,064.92 paid, $319,624.22 outstanding.
▪ National Park Service: $100,000 owed, $74,464.52 paid, $25,535.48 outstanding.
▪ National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration: $110,000 owed, $82,392.68 paid, $28,088.36 outstanding.
▪ Fine: $125,000 owed and outstanding.
▪ Special penalty, assessment: $100, paid.
▪ Total restitution and fines: $697,789.14 owed, $199,541.08 paid, $498,248.06 outstanding.
Scott Walker is also responsible for the $210,000 in total restitution owed to the NPS and NOAA.
In addition, Scott Walker and Michael Janus owed $180,000 in restitution to the city of D’Iberville in the fraud case. They have paid $102,470.69 and still owe $77,529.31, court records show.
Scott Walker has not made a monthly payment in the fraud case since January, court records show. Janus has been making regular monthly payments of $200.
Scott Walker owns Walker and Walker Management Group, a property management company.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
