HINDS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – On Tuesday, May 24, State Auditor Shad White announced special agents from his office arrested two more suspects in connection to the Hinds County Election Commission scandal.
Undare Kidd and Trafonda Kidd were both indicted for conspiracy and fraud by a local grand jury. A $49,653.52 demand letter was presented to both individuals upon arrest.
According to White, the Kidds submitted a false invoice for services not actually provided to Hinds County taxpayers. These arrests come after Toni Johnson, Sudie Jones-Teague, and Cedric Cornelius were each arrested for fraud, embezzlement, and bribery earlier this year.
A portion of the money allegedly obtained by the Kidds came from $1.9 million in grants awarded to Hinds County by the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL)—a nonprofit organization funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“This case shows, once again, that there was allegedly fraudulent spending on the 2020 election in Hinds County. We will continue to work alongside prosecutors to ensure all our 2020 election spending cases are brought to a successful conclusion,” said White. “I am thankful to the investigators and prosecutors for their hard work.”
If convicted, the defendants face prison time and thousands of dollars in fines. The case will be prosecuted by the office of Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens.
