COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The vice chair of the county council that governs South Carolina’s capital city area has been indicted on public corruption charges that include allegations she used a government credit card to charge thousands of dollars’ worth of travel, including a trip to Greece.
Late Thursday, the State Grand Jury issued a 24-count indictment against Richland County Council Vice Chairwoman Dalhi Myers, accusing her of also using public money to shop at Sam’s Club, Staples, Verizon and Barnes & Noble, buying Godiva chocolates, Slim Jims and funding personal cellphone repairs.
On the personal trip to Greece, Myers said she was getting information about sewer systems, prosecutors said.
Myers also used her county card for a trip to New Jersey to “stalk” NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and former NFL player Richard Seymour, prosecutor Creighton Waters said in court Friday.
Myers, an attorney, fabricated explanations for the purchases, ultimately writing a $27,000 fraudulent check to attempt to repay the county but using an account she knew didn’t have enough money in it, authorities said.
Myers was released without having to post bond on Friday. A judge ordered her to return all county-owned equipment.
During the 2020 presidential cycle, in the fierce competition for support among Democrats ahead of South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary, Myers garnered media attention for switching her endorsement from Joe Biden to Bernie Sanders, telling The Associated Press she saw Sanders as the best choice to go toe-to-toe with President Donald Trump in the general election.
In July, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott launched a criminal probe into allegations that county officials had misspent public money on their government credit cards. In July, Myers said she had nothing to hide and had “voluntarily met with law enforcement.”
Myers also faces an ethics charge related to allegations she improperly spent money from her 2016 campaign account on a legal subscription service.
Myers, 52, was first elected to county council in 2016 in a special election to replace Kelvin Washington, who was removed from office after he pleaded guilty to failing to file income tax returns.
Myers lost her bid for reelection this year and had been slated to leave office when her term expires Dec 31. On Friday, Gov. Henry McMaster suspended her from office and appointed Cheryl D. English, who won the seat this year, to take office early.
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