Embezzlement charges against the former Natchez city clerk and her deputy clerk have been dropped.
According to The Natchez Democrat, 52-year-old Servia Fortenberry, the former Natchez City Clerk, and 33-year-old Clerk Sevetrius Dillon, the former deputy clerk, were arrested in August 2022. Each was charged with two counts of embezzlement.
The amounts each reportedly embezzled are $12,258.29 and $6,634.80.
Both left their occupations in October 2021. However, prior to their resignation, it is alleged that they paid themselves funds for salary, vacation, and other compensation they believed they were entitled to have.
Nevertheless, State Auditor Shad White argues the two paid themselves from a city account without permission.
As of now, a bonding company has reimbursed the city the former Natchez employees allegedly took illegally and criminal charges against the two have been dropped.
