Former district clerk Polly Tutor was arrested and indicted in March 2021 after a Mississippi state auditor investigation revealed she embezzled over $25,000 from the Itawamba County Soil and Water Conservation District over six years through unauthorized debit card purchases and forged checks drawn on the district's beaver control program account; the total owed including interest and investigative costs was $37,215.02.

Itawamba County Soil and Water Conservation District — Tutor Embezzlement (2014–2020)

Outcome: Former district clerk Polly Tutor was arrested and indicted in March 2021 after investigators found she embezzled over $25,000 ($37,215.02 including interest and investigative costs) from the district over six years through unauthorized debit card purchases and forged checks; the scheme was discovered only when a tax lien for unpaid payroll taxes prompted state auditor review.

Background

The Itawamba County Soil and Water Conservation District serves landowners and agricultural operators in Itawamba County, northeastern Mississippi. Like most Mississippi conservation districts, the district operates with minimal staff. Polly Tutor of Nettleton served as the district's clerk with access to district bank accounts and financial instruments.

The Discovery

The embezzlement was discovered through an indirect route: district commissioners contacted the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor after a tax lien was filed against the district for unpaid payroll taxes. When investigators reviewed the district's finances in response to the tax lien inquiry, they found that multiple district-controlled bank accounts had been depleted — indicating a much larger problem than the tax lien itself.

The Scheme

The investigation determined that Polly Tutor had been defrauding the district using two mechanisms from June 2014 through August 2020 — a period of over six years:

1. Unauthorized debit card purchases: Tutor made personal purchases using district debit cards, bypassing budget controls
2. Forged checks: Tutor wrote unauthorized checks from the district's dedicated beaver control program checking account to herself and others, with signatures believed to be forged

The total amount embezzled exceeded $25,000. Including applicable interest and investigative expenses as required under Mississippi law, the total owed to taxpayers was calculated at $37,215.02.

Charges and Potential Penalties

Tutor was charged with embezzlement and forgery. A $10,000 bond was set in Itawamba County. If convicted on all counts, she faced up to 25 years in prison and $60,000 in fines under Mississippi's embezzlement and forgery statutes. The case was referred to District Attorney John Weddle's office for prosecution.

Pattern Context

This is one of at least four Mississippi conservation district embezzlement cases prosecuted by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor in recent years, suggesting a systemic pattern of inadequate financial controls across the state's conservation district network. The six-year duration of this scheme (2014–2020) is the longest of the documented Mississippi conservation district cases.

Primary Source: Mississippi Office of the State Auditor — Auditor's Office Makes Two Arrests in North Mississippi (March 2021)