HOLLANDALE, Miss.–Leake County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Nelson, who is the former superintendent in Clarksdale, and two other people are under federal indictment, accused of embezzlement and misuse of school funds and taxpayer money.
According to reporting by Mississippi Today, Nelson, while superintendent of Clarksdale Schools and Leake County, and Mario Willis, superintendent of Hollandale Schools, conspired to pay each other thousands of dollars in consulting fees for consulting work that was never done.
The activity went on from November 2021 to June 2023, according to the indictment.
The two are also accused of stealing money from the U.S. Dept. of Education and misuse of that money.
A third person, Moneka M. Smith-Taylor, of St. Louis, is also accused of $250,000 from Willis for what is essentially a “no-show” job, where services were never rendered, then paying Willis kickbacks for getting the consulting contract.
The indictments are on federal charges.
According to district websites, both men still have their jobs.
