Mississippi § 97-15-5 - Highway commission members, employees or highway contractors; conspiracy to violate contracts and defraud state.

§ 97-15-5. Highway commission members, employees or highway contractors; conspiracy to violate contracts and defraud state.

Any member of the state highway commission or any person employed by the state highway commission, in connection with the carrying on of the work outlined in Title 65, Mississippi Code of 1972, who shall knowingly perform any act with intent to injure the state, or any contractor or his agent, or employee, or any other person, who shall conspire with the director or with any member of the state highway commission, or employee thereof or with any state official, to permit a violation of any contract with intent to injure or defraud the state, or any contractor or agent, or employee of any contractor who shall knowingly do any work on any state highway in violation of contract, and with intent to defraud the state, the member of the state highway commission, or employee thereof, state official or contractor, or employee or agent of such contractor, or any other person so conspiring or so doing, shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof shall be confined in the state penitentiary not less than one year, nor more than five years, or be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) or both. In addition, any such person shall be liable to the state highway commission for double the amount the state may have lost by reason thereof, such liability to be covered by any bond that may have been executed by such official, contractor, or employee, the liability hereunder of the bondsmen, however, being limited to the total amount of said bond and not more.