ABERDEEN, Miss. (WJTV) – Two former Mississippi superintendents and a Missouri schoolteacher were sentenced in federal court for stealing nearly $400,000 in U.S. Department of Education funds.
U.S. Attorney Scott Leary announced that Mario Wilson, 58, of Southaven; Earl Joe Nelson, 57, of Biloxi; and Monekea Smith-Taylor, 53, of St. Louis, pled guilty to conspiracy to embezzle federal program funds.
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Wilson was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $393,000 in restitution. Nelson was sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay $143,000 in restitution. Smith-Taylor was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution.
According to court documents, Willis was the superintendent of Hollandale School District. From July 2019 to May 2022, Nelson was the superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District. In October 2022, Nelson became the superintendent of Leake County School District. Smith-Taylor was a schoolteacher in the St. Louis, Missouri area…