Sheriff looks into ‘possible fraud’ in Richland County Council card spending
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is reviewing “possible fraud” in the Richland County credit card program used by County Council members.
Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown sent an email to members of Richland County Council on Tuesday informing them the sheriff’s office is pursuing a “criminal investigation” into possible misuse of the county’s procurement card program.
“During a conversation with Sheriff Lott this afternoon, he informed me that his department is in receipt of information that has prompted the RCSD to open a criminal investigation to look into allegations of potential misuse of county purchasing cards,” Brown said in his email to council members.
Sheriff Leon Lott confirmed Tuesday that potential fraudulent charges on council members’ spending accounts have been brought to his attention.
“We’ve been made aware of possible fraud involving the p-cards,” Lott said, referring to procurement cards issued by Richland County to members of County Council. “We will be looking into it and coordinating with the county administrator.”
Separately, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division confirmed it is also aware of allegations involving the procurement program, but a spokesman declined to say if SLED is taking any action at this time.
Previous reporting by The State on the procurement, or p-card, program, outlined credit card purchases made by members of Richland County Council, including some that were characterized as of “unknown origins” in a June 14 memo from assistant county administrator Ashley Powell to county administrator Leonardo Brown, which was obtained by The State.
The memo was written in reference to an email from Councilwoman Dalhi Myers to county staff members, in which Myers requested county staff cancel her p-card. There were unauthorized charges on her card, Myers said, some of which she said were made by an employee of her law firm who mistakenly used Myers’ county card instead of her business card. Myers has said she has repaid inaccurate charges made to her county account and is reviewing to see if there are more.
Myers also requested that Brown and his staff investigate the handling of the p-card program and procedures.
“Not only does the correspondence detail misuse of County resources by an individual not authorized to make charges on behalf of Richland County Government... it also alerts staff to unknown or fraudulent charges,” Powell wrote in her memo.
“This amounts to criminal activity,” Powell said in the memo. “(S)omeone had spending power tantamount to approximately $31,000 where the sanctioning of such has been called into question.”
In a council meeting Tuesday, Brown told the council he intends to come up with new policies to introduce controls that will close gaps in how p-card spending is ultimately approved.
“The program defers to council members, who approve their own cards, while department heads do not,” Brown said.
He suggested cards could still be used, but the county would not pay out without additional layers of approvals.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Myers said she believed information on county spending had been “weaponized” against certain members of council.
“I have voluntarily met with law enforcement,” Myers said. “I’m not running around stealing from the county, which is the narrative that’s been fomented.”
Some council members have argued for the p-card program to be abolished altogether, while others argue it could be an effective tool for officials to more easily conduct county business when it is used correctly.
Brown has previously said that no council members are known to have purposely misused their county credit cards.
According to The State’s recent review of county credit card documents, council members have spent thousands of dollars at their discretion using their county-issued credit cards.
Councilman Jim Manning, for instance, has used his credit card to purchase memberships to Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens and the Township Auditorium. Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy’s charges have included multiple gas station purchases made on the same day and a visit to a drive-in movie theater in Aiken County, a charge Kennedy said was made by mistake.
Charges to Myers’ card include $540 to Krispy Kreme and $1,152 to clothing stores Gap and Fallas, as well as a $4,929 charge from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in February, according to records. Myers told The State she was alarmed by the rental car charge, which she said should have been another card, not her county card. She alerted the rental car company, and her p-card account was credited back the rental charge.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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