State public corruption charges still loom for former SC prosecutor Dan Johnson
Public corruption charges brought by the state are still pending for former South Carolina prosecutor Dan Johnson, who was released from federal prison last year after he was convicted of using taxpayer dollars for his own personal use.
The state Attorney General’s Office confirmed Wednesday the state’s case against Johnson is still pending after the former 5th Circuit solicitor was indicted by a state grand jury on charges that include embezzlement of public funds and misconduct in office.
It was not immediately clear why the state’s case has not moved ahead, though the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately forced a backlog of cases across the state after outbreaks caused courts to shut down.
“The man pleaded guilty to a federal charge, ... served a year in prison, ordered to pay full restitution, paid full restitution, he’s been disbarred and he also resigned his commission in the military,” Johnson’s lawyer, John Rakowsky, told The State on Thursday. “I don’t see what else needs to be done with this matter.”
The state charges pending against Johnson involve similar offenses to which Johnson pleaded guilty in 2019.
In 2018, the state grand jury first indicted Johnson and his former aide, Nicole Holland, on public corruption charges that involved, for example, using state drug forfeiture money and spending office-provided credit cards on personal expenses.
The state grand jury also zeroed in on Johnson’s former service as a part-time major in the S.C. Air National Guard, saying he “obtained” more than $2,000 from the “military in personal reimbursements for Air National Guard travel expenses that were actually paid with a governmental credit card issued to the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.”
Holland pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges of mail and wire fraud, agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors.
She was sentenced in 2019 to three years of probation and had to repay the money she used on personal expenses.
That same year, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, with another three years of supervised release and a $19,270 fine paid to the Kershaw County Solicitor’s Office.
Johnson was released from prison in May 2020, and, on Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court disbarred him.
