Greedy Gains: Mississippi Lottery Official Embezzled Money to Give Herself Unauthorized Raises

A former executive at the Mississippi Lottery Corporation was sentenced recently after pleading guilty to embezzling funds to give herself unauthorized raises, State Auditor Shad White announced.

Hope Bishop, former Vice President of Human Resources at the private Mississippi Lottery Corporation, was arrested in November 2023 after staff discovered the embezzlement when they were improving lottery operations and reported it to the state auditor's office.

At the time of her arrest, Bishop was served with a demand for repayment of $187,738.85. She pleaded guilty to embezzlement on June 6.

Bishop was recently sentenced to 20 years in state prison, with 15 suspended and five to be served on house arrest, followed by five years of supervised probation.

The court also ordered her to pay fines, fees, and investigative costs.

The state auditor's office said Bishop had "no access to the gaming side" of the Lottery Corporation's operations, so her actions "did not affect the integrity of lottery games."

An insurance policy covered her employment at the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.

The Lottery Corporation has since implemented additional controls to prevent future embezzlement.

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“I’m thankful for the efforts of the investigators, prosecutors, and the lottery corporation for the joint work required to bring this case to a close,” White said in a statement.

TMX contributed to this report.