By By Sheila Blackmon/The Meridian Star
April 26, 2001
A felony case against John Bowen, project coordinator of Millennium Homes, has been dismissed.
Bowen was indicted in July by a Kemper County grand jury for false representation to defraud the government. The case involved work Bowen and employees at Millennium Homes did for Kemper County officials. The business is located on Highway 45 just south of Scooba.
Delayed twice, Bowen's trial had been rescheduled for May 1.
The charge resulted from an audit of Kemper County's records by investigators from State Auditor Phil Bryant's office.
William Ready Jr., Bowen's attorney, said it "became apparent" it was a matter of Kemper County officials' not having or providing all the required documentation to Bryant's office. He said Bryant didn't have the complete information in the county's contract with Millennium Homes.
Ready said the case involved about $20,000 in alleged double billings for work Millennium Homes employees were to do on a site rented from Kemper County.
He said Earl Smith, an investigator from Bryant's office, toured the plant with Assistant District Attorney Andy Davis.
District Attorney Bilbo Mitchell said what's left now is a civil matter between Kemper County officials and John Bowen.
Ready said Bowen is "pleased and delighted" with the outcome.
Sheila Blackmon is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. Call her at 693-1551, ext. 3275, or e-mail her at sblackmon@themeridianstar.com.