Jessica Breger
Durant Democrat
A trial for an embezzlement case against former Oklahoma state senator Jay Paul Gumm is set to begin next week in Wiggins, Miss.
According to the Stone County Mississippi Courthouse, docket call for the trial is set for Monday, Jan. 12, although courthouse employees say they are not certain if the process will begin Monday or be delayed until the next day.
Gumm, 51, formerly of Durant, was the former Stone County Economic Development Partnership executive director, and he is accused of embezzling more than $24,000, according to a news release from Mississippi State Auditor Stacey Pickering.
Gumm was first arrested in August 2013 and was indicted in January 2014 on one count of felony embezzlement.
According to the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office, the various instances of embezzlement included Gumm depositing $11,750 into his personal account, fraudulently withholding a $2,000 personal check that was shown as deposited, depositing a $500 fraudulent check from a Christmas party into his personal account and depositing an amount of $8,060 from six checks with forged signatures and other money.
Gumm served two terms in the Oklahoma State Senate before moving to Mississippi for his position with the SCEDP
He is a former Durant resident who was elected in 2002 as a Democrat to the Oklahoma State Senate for District No. 6, a position he held until he was defeated in 2010 by Josh Brecheen, a Republican. Prior to being elected to the Oklahoma Senate, Gumm was executive director of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce. He moved with his family to Mississippi after losing the 2010 election.
Tina Owens Gillespie, the former executive secretary for SCEDP, pleaded guilty in September 2014 to one count of embezzlement. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison with the last 12 years suspended.
The Stone County Enterprise reported that she admitted to forging signatures and cashing checks that added up to more than $400,000. As part of the plea, Gillespie is required to testify against Gumm.
