Ex-Panola Co. administrator guilty of embezzlement

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ABERDEEN — The former administrator of Panola County has pleaded guilty to a federal embezzlement charge.
David Michael Chandler was charged Wednesday with creating a fake company to fraudulently charge more than $50,000 in county collection fees from 2007 to 2008. He's also accused of billing $33,500 for fraudulent construction fees and billing thousands more for overtime he did not work.
Chandler pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen to criminal information, a legal procedure sometimes used when a defendant waives indictment and intends to plead guilty. Court records did not indicate when he is to be sentenced.
Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering previously ordered Chandler to pay over $292,000 for pay and benefits he didn't earn and interest.