On Sept. 26, the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office announced that Brooksville Mayor Earlie Henley and former Brooksville City Clerk Shaquita Malone had been arrested and charged with embezzlement.
According to WLBT, Henley is accused of drafting checks made out to himself without the signature of a secondary authority, and he allegedly took cash withdrawal slips to the bank and took cash from the city’s accounts.
For her part, Malone is accused of manipulating
ad width="320" height="250" type="doubleclick" data-slot="/21868623726/site264.tmus/amp2" data-multi-size="320x50,300x250" data-multi-size-validation="false" rtc-config='{"vendors": {"prebidappnexuspsp": {"PLACEMENT_ID": "27198239"}}, "timeoutMillis": 500}'> the city’s payroll system by misrepresenting herself as an hourly employee instead of the salaried worker she actually was, and she also increased the hourly rate of her compensation to receive money she was not entitled to.Malone is also a convicted felon, and as such was not eligible to be employed as a city clerk. If they are both convicted, they may be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and a prison term of up to 20 years.
As Jacob Walters, the communications director for the auditor’s office, told The Commercial Dispatch, Henley’s alleged embezzlement totaled $19,998 and was accumulated between July and November 2024.
Henley lost his most recent reelection bid and resigned in May, nearly two months before his term was set to conclude. The state auditor is also charging Henley with repaying $184,000, which includes the amount allegedly embezzled, as well as the civil penalties associated with issuing a contract to a business without the approval of an alderman.
Malone, meanwhile, allegedly embezzled a total of $7,500 from the city during the past year; however, her overall total is $47,000, which includes the amount she allegedly stole, as well as the civil penalty for working a city job for which she was unqualified.
According to Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, “We will continue to hold public officials who break the public’s trust accountable at every level. Thank you to the prosecutors who took our investigation and to the men and women of the Auditor’s Office for their tireless work.”
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