BILOXI, Miss. (AP) An attorney says Tina Shumate, a high-profile Mississippi Department of Marine Resources employee, and her sister, Samantha Hebert resigned and left their jobs at the agency.
Shumate served as coastal management and planning director under former Executive Director Bill Walker, whose spending practices as agency head are being investigated by the State Auditor's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gulfport attorney Tim Holleman, who represents both women, told The Sun Herald Shumate and Hebert resigned Thursday.
In November, a federal audit questioned the DMR's purchase of property owned by the women's parents. It specifically pointed to a potential conflict of interest for Shumate because she headed the Coastal Impact Assistance Program through which the property was purchased.
