Melissa Upchurch
Today State Auditor Shad White announced special agents from his office have arrested Melissa Upchurch. Upchurch is the former District Secretary for the Holmes County Water and Soil Conservation District. She is charged with embezzlement.
Upchurch is accused of issuing and then depositing district checks into her own bank account from June 2020 to September 2022. Upchurch was served with a $48,160.08 demand at the time of her surrender. The demand letter includes interest and investigative costs.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team at the State Auditor’s office. They have recovered more money in the last four years than any other four-year period in our state’s history,” said Auditor White. “This case adds another log to the fire that we’ve been building.”
Upchurch faces 20 years and $25,000 in fines if convicted on all counts. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
District Attorney Akillie Oliver’s office will prosecute the case.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or via telephone during normal business hours at 1-(800)-321-1275.
Shad White was appointed the 42nd State Auditor of Mississippi in July 2018 and then won election to the office after establishing a tough, no-nonsense reputation. In his time as State Auditor, White’s team has stopped the largest public fraud in state history, made the largest civil recovery after an auditor’s investigation in the history of the office, and concluded cases that, collectively, led to hundreds of years of prison sentences for fraudsters. He holds a certificate in forensic accounting, is a Certified Fraud Examiner, and serves as a captain in the Mississippi National Guard. The son of an oilfield pumper and public school teacher, White grew up in rural Jones County and went on to earn degrees from Ole Miss, the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and Harvard Law School. Today he, his wife Rina, and their children live in Rankin County and attend St. Richard Church.