LAUREL, Miss. (AP) - A former county supervisor in south Mississippi was sentenced to five years on probation Monday after pleading guilty to an embezzlement charge.
Jerome Wyatt, now 72, was a Jones County supervisor when he was arrested in October 2018 after being indicted.
Investigators said Wyatt had founded a mentoring program called The Gentlemen’s Club for students at Laurel Middle School, and that he submitted fraudulent requests for reimbursement of $1,536.
Court records show Circuit Judge Dal Williamson gave Wyatt a 10-year prison sentence but suspended all of it, which means Wyatt will not serve time. Williamson also gave Wyatt five years on probation and ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service.
Wyatt was not reelected as a supervisor last year. Because of the felony conviction, he is ineligible to hold any other elected office in the future.
The auditor’s office has recovered all of the misused money, according to a news release from that office.
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