Gazebo Gazette
Former Harrison County Deputy Tax Collector Denise Gill, of Biloxi, was sentenced Wednesday, February 26 for submitting fraudulent travel vouchers for mileage reimbursement she did not incur. Circuit Court Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced Gill to five years, with two years to be served on the Intensive Supervision or House Arrest Program.
After being released from House Arrest, Gill will be required to report on probation for three years. Additionally, Judge Dodson ordered Gill to pay restitution to Harrison County in the
amount of $3,511.00, as well as fines, fees, and investigative expenses to the State Auditor’s Office.
During her guilty plea last month, Gill stated that during her employment at the Harrison County Tax Collector’s Office she signed and submitted a false travel voucher for mileage expenses she did not incur. Information was provided to the Court that Gill fraudulently claimed and received mileage reimbursements from the Harrison County Board of Supervisors while employed as the Deputy Tax Collector.
The mileage reimbursements were for her claims of using her personal vehicle to conduct official county business on behalf of the Tax Collector’s office.
“The Tax Collector’s Office has three locations in Harrison County, one in the Gulfport Courthouse, one in the Biloxi Courthouse, and one in Orange Grove. During the charged timeframe, the Defendant would routinely submit travel vouchers claiming that she had traveled to those locations during the work day in her personal vehicle. By way of witnesses, video and card readers from the courthouses, and for a set amount of time a GPS tracker, the State would show that she did not travel to these locations in her personal vehicle as she claimed,” stated Chief Assistant District Attorney Crosby Parker.
At sentencing, Gill, who is 53 years of age, apologized for her actions and stated that she knows he crime has tarnished her time as an employee in the tax collector’s office.
