Ex-Marine Resources chief Bill Walker finally repays most of stolen money. What we know

Now that court-appointed conservators are managing the finances of Bill Walker, the former head of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has seriously whittled down the amount of restitution he owes for conspiring to commit fraud while on the job.

Walker was was ordered in 2014 to pay $572,689.14 in restitution to two federal agencies and the state auditor. A federal judge sent him back to prison once, and threatened to a second time, when he failed to make payments.

But now Walker has only $58,953.51 in restitution remaining, federal court records show. The money is owed to the State Auditor’s Office.

His son, Ocean Springs businessman Scott Walker, shared responsibility for repaying $210,000 of the total after pleading guilty to the same crime. Both Walkers served prison time after their 2014 guilty pleas

The Walkers owed restitution of $210,000 in federal funds that Bill Walker controlled through DMR. He gave the money to a nonprofit to buy subdivision property that his son owned in Jackson County’s Gulf Hills.

Prosecutors indicated at the time that Scott Walker was having trouble making payments on the loan, which his parents had co-signed.

A federal judge also ordered Bill Walker to repay the State Auditor’s Office $362,689.14 for funneling DMR money to a private foundation that he controlled. In addition, he was hit with a $125,000 fine and $100 penalty, bringing the total he owned to $697,789.14.

Walker still owes $124,611.65 on the fine.

Bill Walker avoids second return to prison

Released from prison in 2017, Walker returned for two weeks in 2018 after the judge, Keith Starrett, found he was “living large” rather than paying restitution. His son was helping manage his money.

Starrett was none too happy when he found out the Walkers had season tickets to Shuckers games, payments on a Mercedes Benz and Land Rover, and other steep expenses. They promised to cut expenses and step up payments,

Starrett hauled Bill Walker back into court October 2020, after the Sun Herald reported that both Walkers had stopped making restitution payments earlier in the year. Scott Walker was no longer under the federal court’s jurisdiction but Bill Walker was still on supervised release from a five-year sentence.

Fed up, Starrett found that Scott Walker was misspending his father’s money — and jeopardizing his freedom. The judge ordered that a guardian be appointed to manage Bill Walker’s money. Jackson County Chancery Court Judge Neil Harris wound up with the case because Bill Walker lives in Ocean Springs and chancery courts oversee conservatorships and guardianships.

Scott Walker’s restitution paid in full

After a rocky start, which included Scott Walker driving his parents to an ATM to withdraw $6,000 before Christmas 2020, the conservatorship over Bill Walker has smoothed out.

Co-conservator and Ocean Springs attorney Matthew Pavlov said he’s had no more problems with Scott Walker. He said restitution payments are made regularly. Pavlov said the restitution and fine payments should be finished in a couple of years.

“We’ve worked hard to pay it off,” he said. “We make sure it gets paid every single month on time.”

Chancery Court Judge Neil Harris oversees the conservatorship.

Pavlov said that Scott Walker has remained close to his parents, who are growing frail. He visits often and makes sure they spend plenty of time with their grandsons. A fourth grandchild is on the way.

Scott Walker has finished paying his restitution. Wife Trinity Walker was so proud of him that she bought billboards in October 2020 announcing that he had repaid more than $325,000 in stolen taxpayer funds, including restitution owed in a separate fraud case.

She included the hashtag #thankyouscott on the billboards.