The Mississippi State Auditor’s Office has sent Circuit Clerk M.L. “Binkey” Vines a letter demanding he pay the office $72,847.17 in investigation costs, subpoena costs and bank charges.

The office is seeking $6,617 in insufficient fund fees on behalf of Vines’ bank for checks he allegedly bounced, office spokesman Ross Aldridge said Friday.

Vines was charged in September with 13 counts of embezzlement and recently pleaded guilty to three counts. The remaining 10 counts were dropped as part of a plea bargain arrangement.

Also, Vines has not repaid the interest on the allegedly embezzled funds, Aldridge said. That interest, 1 percent of the $228,760 Vines has already been repaid, plus other charges, totals $32,899.29 left to pay the county, Aldridge said.

The auditor’s office spent $96 subpoenaing bank records, Aldridge said, another amount the auditor wants repaid.

The auditor’s office spent $33,234 in investigating Vines’ case, Aldridge said.

Judge Joe Webster, a retired judge brought in from Coahoma County, withheld accepting Vines’ plea, meaning Vines could remain in office and run for election again.

The auditor’s request is separate from the judge’s court order, Aldridge said.

“This is not in conflict at all with what the judge said,” he said. “This (request) is totally from our office.”

The judge’s order only required Vines to repay within a year $11,596, including the subpoena fees and partial reimbursement to the auditor’s office.

The auditor’s office served as lead investigator in Vines’ embezzlement case.