CORINTH, Miss.–Taking advantage of taxpayers by defrauding the county out of more than $44,000, is the charge against Doug Essary, owner of Essary Truck Sales & Parts Inc. An indictment by the Alcorn County grand jury was announced Thursday.
Essary was indicted on fifty-six counts of submitting fraudulent documents and four counts of conspiracy to fraudulently obtain public funds. A demand in the amount of $44,168.17 was also served, said State Auditor Stacey Pickering and District Attorney John Weddle.
Essary’s business was searched Thursday morning. Investigators were looking for records that might help in the investigation.
Essary is accused of scheming with former Alcorn County officials by submitting fraudulent invoices to Alcorn County Districts one and two. He inflated the cost of invoices and also turned in invoices for work that was never done, said Pickering.
“My office will continue to expose the individuals taking advantage of the taxpayers, and we will continue to pursue this case until justice is served,” said Pickering. “The citizens of Alcorn County can be confident that we will work to restore integrity in their county government.”
“The investigation into these matters resulting in multiple indictments of public officials has been thorough and the District Attorney’s office has worked closely with the State Auditor and his staff to get these cases to the grand jury. We recognize that confidence in our elected officials cannot be restored until the corruption is revealed. I would like to thank Stacey Pickering’s office and his staff for their cooperation and tireless work,” said Weddle.
The state auditor and district attorney said the investigation in Alcorn County is ongoing and additional information will be released when it becomes available. Additionally, a summary update in early September is planned, said a news release from Pickering’s office.
Several county officials, including the sheriff and local business owners have been arrested on similar charges in the past few weeks and months.
