JACKSON – A woman who served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections has admitted that she embezzled funds from the agency, officials said Friday.
Dr. Kentrell Liddell, 35, of Jackson, appeared before Judge Malcolm Harrison in Hinds County Circuit Court Friday and entered an open plea to 13 counts of embezzlement. Liddell was sentenced to 10 years in the custody of MDOC, with eight years suspended and two years to serve. She must also serve five years of post release supervision for each count and each sentence will run concurrently. Liddell must also pay $5,000 in fines, all court costs, and the full restitution of $94,745 to MDOC.
Attorney General Jim Hood expressed his joy at the outcome of the proceedings.
“We are pleased knowing that the Department of Corrections will get back all of the money that was wrongfully taken from them,” Hood said. “It is a shame that a young medical doctor would throw away her career by going for the quick bucks.”
Liddell was first arrested in May 2009 as a result of a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
“When MDOC became aware of a problem, we alerted the Attorney General’s Office and have been working in conjunction with them to get to the bottom of this,” MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps said in a statement. “You’re always disappointed when a person in a position of trust abuses that trust. We will continue to police ourselves and evaluate our policies and procedures in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.”
Liddell was taken into custody at the Madison County Medical Center, which is where she was employed at the time of her arrest. She was transported to the Hinds County Jail in Raymond and her bond was set at $13,000 – $1,000 per each count of embezzlement.
Liddell must report to the Mississippi Department of Corrections on January 4, 2010, to begin serving her sentence.
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