ABERDEEN — Two former Mississippi school superintendents and a Missouri schoolteacher have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a scheme that embezzled nearly $400,000 in education funds, federal prosecutors announced.
Mario Willis, 58, of Southaven; Earl Joe Nelson, 57, of Biloxi; and Monekea M. Smith-Taylor, 53, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle federal program funds and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in Aberdeen.
According to court records, Willis and Nelson used their positions as school superintendents to divert public education funds for personal enrichment. Smith-Taylor, a schoolteacher in the St. Louis area, participated in the scheme.
Willis, the former superintendent of the Hollandale School District, was sentenced April 22 to 20 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $393,300 in restitution. His prison sentence is scheduled to begin June 15.
Nelson, who served as superintendent of the Clarksdale Municipal School District from 2019 to 2022 before becoming superintendent of the Leake County School District, was sentenced May 13 to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $143,300 in restitution and is scheduled to report to prison July 13.
Smith-Taylor was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution.
Federal officials said the offenses involved the misuse of taxpayer-funded education dollars intended to benefit students.
U.S. Attorney Scott Leary said the case reflects the Department of Justice’s increased focus on fraud involving public funds.
“The embezzlement of school funds is just the type of crime the National Fraud Enforcement Division is calling on us to emphasize,” Leary said in a statement.
Jamila Davis, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Regional Office, said Willis abused a position of public trust and deprived students and families of resources intended for education.
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White credited investigators and federal prosecutors for bringing the case to a conclusion.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton A. Dabbs prosecuted the case.
The case is part of a broader federal effort to investigate and prosecute fraud involving taxpayer dollars. In April, the Department of Justice announced the creation of its National Fraud Enforcement Division, which works in conjunction with the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
