Former employee of volunteer fire department charged with embezzlement

The treasurer/secretary of the North East Volunteer Fire Department has been arrested for allegedly embezzling funds from the department’s two accounts according to Pearl River County Sheriff Department Chief Investigator Marc Ogden.

Ogden said that on August 31, 2018, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office (PRCSO) received a complaint of possible embezzlement of funds from the North East Volunteer Fire Dept.

Ogden said that complaint was that Sonja Dedeaux, age 49, of 31 Honeycomb Rd., in Wiggins, MS., and her ex-husband were possibly embezzling funds from the fire department.

Ogden stated that the PRCSO investigators subpoenaed bank accounts from both suspects and from both accounts at the fire department. Ogden said that after investigators reviewed the records for all of the accounts, it was determined that there was a total of $67,890.56 embezzled from both accounts and that Sonja Dedeaux was the person that embezzled the funds.

Ogden said that the PRCSO obtained a warrant for the arrest of Sonja Dedeaux and she arrested on Friday October 5, 2018, at her home in Stone County.

The case is still under investigation and Ogden said that he expects the amount of money embezzled from the fire department will likely increase, and there exists the possibility of more arrests in the future in regards to this case.