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2 former superintendents, 1 teacher sentenced for stealing nearly $400k.2 former superintendents, 1 teacher sentenced for stealing nearly $400k ABERDEEN, Miss.(WMC) - Two former school superintendents and a schoolteacher have been sentenced for stealing almost $400,000 from the Department of Education.Mario Willis, 58, of Southaven, Mississippi, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle federal program funds and was sentenced to twenty months in federal prison beginning, with three years supervised release.He has also been ordered to pay $393,300 in restitution.Earl Joe Nelson, 57, of Biloxi, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle federal program funds and was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison, with three years of supervised release.He also ordered to pay a total of $143,300 to his victims for restitution.Monekea Smith-Taylor, 53, of St.Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle federal program funds and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release and additionally, she was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to the victims.Earl Joe Nelson was the superintendent of the Clarksdale Municipal School District from July 2019 to May 2022.Nelson became the superintendent of the Leake County School District in October 2022.Monekea Smith-Taylor was a schoolteacher in the St.Louis, Missouri area.Nelson and Willis, together with Smith, embezzled public funds for their own financial gain.Click here to sign up for our newsletter!Click here to report a spelling or grammar error.Please include the headline.Copyright 2026 WMC.All rights reserved.