|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Four South Carolina public officials – two from Hampton County and two from the town of Bluffton, S.C. – were indicted on Thursday (August 15, 2024) in connection with an ongoing S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation.
The indictments were announced by the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) of the S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor’s office, which is run by Duffie Stone. The fourteenth circuit PIU is a collaboration with the office of S.C. first circuit solicitor David Pascoe.
The probe ensnared former Hampton County administrator Rose-Dobson Elliott, former Hampton County deputy Justin Edwards and two Bluffton, S.C. police officers – Thomas Rauchfuss and Bonificio Perez.
According to a PIU release, the indictments stemmed from “separate examinations” conducted by the unit following investigations by SLED.
“The investigations that led to the indictments continue,” the statement noted.
***
Dobson-Elliot was charged with embezzlement of public funds in an amount less than $10,000. According to a copy of the direct indictment, she “did embezzle public money from Hampton County.”
Our audience will recall Hampton County’s finances have come under intense scrutiny in recent months amid a host of allegations including “fraud, millions of dollars in missing or misspent funds and a habitual failure to report required financial information to the public.”
In April 2023, interim county administrator Heather Simmons Jones filed a report (.pdf) with the Hampton County sheriff’s office accusing Elliott of stealing funds from the county. Elliott left the Hampton County job in December 2022 to take a position in Jasper County as the director of engineering services.
As for Edwards, he was charged with embezzlement of public funds in an amount greater than $10,000 – and misconduct in office. According to the statement, these charges “stem from his alleged use of county funds for personal use between April 2019 and December 2022.”
***
RELATED | HAMPTON COUNTY OWES MILLIONS
***
A direct grand jury indictment stated that Edwards “did unlawfully and intentionally breach his duty of accountability to the public” by virtue of his alleged embezzlement.
Our audience will recall Edwards resigned from his job as assistant chief of the Estill, S.C. police department amid the ongoing investigation into the administration of former Hampton County sheriff T.C. Smalls.
As for the Bluffton defendants, Rauchfuss is a “former civilian employee of the Bluffton police department” who was charged with obstruction of justice “related to his alleged theft of firearms from the department in April 2024.”
Perez was charged with misconduct in office related to his “alleged assistance to Rauchfuss in the theft of firearms.”
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, all of these defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as they may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against them.
***
INDICTMENTS…
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Callie Lyons is a journalist, researcher and author. Her 2007 book ‘Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal’ was the first to cover forever chemicals and their impact on communities – a story later told in the movie ‘Dark Waters’. Her investigative work has been featured in media outlets, publications, and documentaries all over the world. Lyons also appears in ‘Citizen Sleuth’ – a 2023 documentary exploring the genre of true crime.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
Hopefully these investigations will migrate over the county line into Jasper, where there are many concerning red flags reported by FITS and others that are traditionally indicative of fraud and embezzlement…the actions taken by the former treasurer and her employees, certain members of the county council, with the aid of the county attorney, to obstruct the current treasurer from access to numerous county banking accounts – and not merely transactional access- we are talking informational access – like simply getting copies of the bank statements. That is a huge red flag.
These indictments/findings seem to lack any real insight to the perceived corruption occurring ….