Mississippi County Wants Insurer to Cover Embezzled Funds

Adams County officials are expecting an insurance policy to cover the $165,000 allegedly embezzled from its juvenile justice center.

Board of Supervisors Attorney Scott Slover tells The Natchez Democrat the insurance should cover 100 percent of the loss.

The case remains under investigation.

Former juvenile justice center administrator Kevin Nations, 48, of Natchez, is charged with embezzlement. He is free on $50,000 bond. The state attorney general’s office is handling the case, said District Attorney Ronny Harper.

Harper said the attorney general’s office will handle the prosecution and presentation to the grand jury if it moves forward.

“Until a grand jury does something, there won’t be anything more than the one initial charge that was filed,” Harper said.

In addition to his role at the juvenile justice center, Nations had previously worked as a police officer, court officer and deputy sheriff. Nations had resigned his position at the juvenile justice center about three weeks before his arrest.

The funds taken during the alleged embezzlement were for the housing of out-of-county juveniles at the center.

Youth Court Judge John Hudson said at the time checks involved in the alleged embezzlement scheme received at the center were reportedly never taken to the county bookkeeping office for deposit.

A new set of controls was put in place to track checks. Hudson said checks are now sent to the county court financial officer, who credits the accounts of the counties making the payments before directing the check to county bookkeeping.