Monday, State Auditor Shad White announced that Cedric Cornelius has pleaded guilty to 3 counts of Fraudulent Writing to Defraud the Government, 2 counts of False Statements, 1 count of Conspiracy, and 1 count of Bribery of a Public Official in connection with the ongoing Hinds County Election Commission case.
Source: State Auditor’s OfficeCornelius was arrested earlier this year in February.
He is guilty of illegally using his company—Apogee Group II, LLC—to work with an election commissioner to be paid without work being performed.
His company was awarded contracts to perform cleaning services, COVID-19 testing, and voting machine audits for the election commission despite being registered as a “motion picture and video production” company. A $216,227.28 demand letter was issued to Cornelius when he was arrested.
Cornelius plead guilty to the crime and was ordered to pay $173,000 in restitution.
Cornelius’s plea follows the guilty plea of Sudie Jones-Teague, another co-conspirator.
Both have agreed to testify against their alleged co-conspirator in the ongoing Hinds County Election Commission case. Sentencing will be held at a later date.
