COLDWATER, Miss. — The city clerk for the Town of Coldwater, Mississippi has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
George Nangah was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced on Wednesday, January 16.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Nangah used an unauthorized Town of Coldwater debit card to purchase gift cards for airline tickets, hotels and retail stores from 2014 to 2017. The DOJ said that none of these gift cards were used for the benefit of the Town of Coldwater.
The DOJ also said that Nangah also made unauthorized payments to himself and one other person on the Town of Coldwater’s Clearing and General Fund bank accounts.
Overall, Nangah reportedly caused a loss of $216,401.28.
U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar commented on Nangah’s conviction, saying in part, “When city officials like Mr. Nangah take those resources and use them for their own personal gain, it is a betrayal of our State and every resident that they pledged to serve when they accepted their positions.”
U.S. District Judge Debra Brown sentenced Nangah to serve the prison term consecutive to any state court term of imprisonment imposed in the Tate County Circuit Court.
Nangah was also ordered to pay more than $216,000 in restitution to the Town of Coldwater.
