HOLMES COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – The former district secretary for the Holmes County Water and Soil Conservation District pled guilty to embezzlement.

State Auditor Shad White said Melissa Upchurch was arrested by agents in June 2023 and served with a $48,160.08 demand letter.

The State Auditor said Upchurch issued and deposited district checks into her bank account from June 2020 to September 2022.

“Thank you to the investigators who worked this matter,” said White. “We’ve now recovered more taxpayer money in the last five years than any other five-year period in the history of the office, and we’re not stopping.”

Upchurch was sentenced by the Holmes County Circuit Court to five years of house arrest, five years of supervised probation, followed by five years of unsupervised probation, and ordered to pay restitution and fines.