South Carolina Cop Trades Career for $140

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In a case that unfolded almost as quickly as his brief law-enforcement career, a South Carolina police officer has been charged with embezzlement after investigators say he sold his department-issued iPhone at a Walmart kiosk.

Chrisgen Gause, 24, was booked into the Marion County Detention Center on a single count of embezzlement, according to booking records. Those same records indicate he posted a $2,500 surety bond the following morning, with a condition requiring him to “keep the peace.”

As for how the former Mullins Police officer found himself in this predicament, agents with the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) say Gause sold his department-issued iPhone to an ecoATM kiosk inside Walmart for $140.

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In the probable-cause affidavit supporting his arrest, agents underscored the obvious — noting that “the iPhone was property of the Mullins Police Department and had been purchased with public funs.”

And yes, SLED misspelled “funds” in the charging document.

According to Mullins PD’s Facebook page, Gause became “part of the team” after graduating from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in July 2024, meaning he had not yet completed ten months on the job when he allegedly sold police property for a payout nearly 18 times less than the price of his bond.

In what will likely stand as one of his final photo shoots as a law-enforcement officer, Mullins PD photographed him in full regalia passing out candy to schoolchildren on Valentine’s Day 2025.

Come August 2025, he was placed on administrative leave after being charged with misconduct in office tied to the sale of his department-issued phone. It would take another four months for the extent of his decision-making to fully reveal itself.

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According to SLED, his case will be prosecuted by the office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Records from the same agency indicate Gause is at least the 25th officer to befall a SLED investigation that resulted in criminal charges in 2025, all of whom are now part of Badges Gone Bad, the ongoing FITSNews series that examines and exposes the epidemic of crime and corruption within South Carolina law enforcement.

That same series has identified at least two officers who avoided criminal charges this year, former Spartanburg County sheriff Chuck Wright and former South Congaree police chief Steven Jonas, following declinations to prosecute issued either by Wilson or by prosecutorial officials within his orbit.

Badge Gone Bad is also tracking the status of two separate SLED investigations, one focused on S.C. trooper Wayne LaBounty and the other on former Belton police chief J. Ross Richey, both of whom remain in good standing with the state.

Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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