JACKSON – A library assistant for the Newton Municipal School District has been arrested and indicted for cashing a check that didn’t belong to him.
State Auditor Stacey Pickering said Thursday that Billy Lamont Johnson was arrested after he cashed a check for $700 that was not originally made out to him.
Pickering said Johnson was indicted after an investigation revealed the check was made out to a third party from the Band Boosters Club of the Newton Municipal School District.
Johnson embezzled the funds by uttering forgery at the Newton County Bank and converting the monies for her personal use.
“This is the second case just recently that has involved school district funds being embezzled and not being spent on the students,” said Pickering. “Just last week, defendants in Rankin County pled guilty after embezzling funds from the School District by charging them for $80,000 worth of pine straw that was never delivered. Any individual who steals money from the tax payers will be prosecuted and held accountable for their actions, regardless of the amount.”
Pickering added that: “Extracurricular organizations, especially the arts, work hard to support the students and raise the needed funds for uniforms and other expenses. To have that money stolen by a volunteer is inexcusable.”
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