TERRY, Miss.- State Auditor Stacey Pickering and Attorney General Jim Hood announced today that Roderick Nicholson has been arrested for embezzling money from the city. An indictment by a Rankin County grand jury on five counts of embezzlement led to the arrest in this joint task force by special agents from the State Auditor’s office and investigators of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Division. Nicholson allegedly paid for over $2,700 in repairs for two personal vehicles using the city’s credit card. This apparently happened on five separate occasions at dealerships in Brandon and Flowood.
“As an elected official, the public places a vote of confidence in you to always do what is best for those whom you represent,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “ It is truly unfortunate when that trust is broken for personal gain.”
“The law does not discriminate, even when it comes to a public official,” said Attorney General Hood. “Our residents deserve honesty and integrity in their representatives, and it’s a sad day when that trust is violated.
The State of Mississippi is demanding a total of $56,966.27 in both civil and criminal exceptions. Nicholson has been booked at the Rankin County Detention Center, where he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
