Surprised she didn't pay more than that.
Posted on 12/18/2020 7:58:03 AM PST by Gamecock
COLUMBIA — Richland County Council Vice Chairwoman Dahli Myers has been indicted on public corruption charges that allege she used her government credit card to cover personal trips to Greece, Georgia, Illinois, Detroit and Nashville, among other inappropriate expenses.
The 24-count indictment, issued by the state grand jury late Thursday, charges Myers with using public money for personal spending sprees at Sam’s Club, Barnes and Noble, Verizon and Staples. The Hopkins resident, who was first elected in 2016, had taxpayers foot bills for premium chocolates, repairs to her personal cell phone and gifts for friends, according to the 24-page filing.
When questioned about the expenses, Myers, an attorney, made up false explanations for why the card purchases were legitimate county expenses and wrote a fraudulent $27,000 check to repay the county from a bank account she knew couldn’t cover it, the grand jury found.
The charges against Myers include misconduct in office, using her government position for personal gain, embezzlement, writing a fraudulent check and misusing her campaign money for personal expenses.
The Lower Richland Democrat was already on her way out of office. She lost in the Democratic primary for Council District 10 earlier this year, and her term ends Dec. 31.
Myers was released without bond after a short hearing Friday at the Richland County Courthouse. She was required to return all county-owned equipment by Judge DeAndrea Benjamin.
State Grand Jury Division Chief Attorney Creighton Waters told Benjamin told Benjamin that a vast majority of charges against Myers were “illicit use” of her county credit card, including junkets to Detroit and other cities, and that she provided “demonstrably false” explanations to investigators.
Myers used her county card for a trip to Newark, N.J., to “stalk” NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and former NFL player Richard Seymour, Waters said. She also used her government card to buy personal items at Barnes & Noble, Sam’s Club and Staples. Her purchases included a strategy book to play the online game, Fortnite.
And when Myers tried to reimburse the county, a check of $27,000 “bounced as high as any super ball could bounce,” Waters said.
Myers’ attorney Deborah Barbier told the judge her client turned herself into authorities Friday and was not a flight risk so she deserved to be released without bond. Myers and Barbier did not speak with reporters before leaving the courtroom.
Myers’ colleagues on Richland County Council were difficult to reach for comment Friday morning.
One, outgoing councilman Jim Manning, wrote in a text message: “Due to several on-going pending legal matters associated with Richland County Council, it would be inappropriate to make any public comment at this time.”
Myers’ conduct as a county councilwoman has faced heavy scrutiny over the past two years.
In 2018, The Post and Courier reported reported that — after giving themselves the authority to spend up to $100,000 in discretionary public funds — council members used their government cards to book out-of-state trips, fuel up their personal vehicles and buy near daily meals from restaurants that ranged from fast-food joints to pricey steakhouses.
At the time, the newspaper reported Myers used her county card to pay for a tire repair on her personal vehicle. She damaged the tire during a work trip and the county administrator approved the expense, Myers said then. Her trip to Greece was another revelation, though she stressed that she repaid the cost of that personal travel, which was first reported by The State newspaper.
Earlier this year, 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. County Administrator Leonardo Brown wrote in a memo earlier that month that too much deference had been given to council members, who are allowed to give themselves credit cards and aren’t always required to provide receipts for their purchases.
During a July council meeting, Myers said she had nothing to hide, adding that she recently “voluntarily met with law enforcement.” She suggested that someone else on the council had leaked details of her spending to “weaponize” the information.
Most recently, Myers faced a stack of charges from the State Ethics Commission, which alleged she failed to disclose thousands in campaign contributions and expenses from her race in 2016. That included roughly $775 spent at restaurants, a $1,000 subscription to a law service, a $252 fireworks purchase and a $53 tab at a wine store. Myers denied doing anything improper and said she simply had difficulty filling out her required paperwork.
On Friday, Myers was slapped with a criminal charge related to that ethics probe. The grand jury charged her with improperly spending money from her 2016 campaign account to cover debts her business, Myers Business Lawyers, LLC, owed to LexisNexis.
Myers played a role in string of other controversies in her four years on county council.
She sparred with council members over a decision to fire the former county administrator, Gerald Seals, and court papers showed she texted Seals during a council meeting to help him negotiate a settlement.
An attorney who practices corporate law, she also texted Seals in advance of the negotiations.
“Don’t counter small or reasonable,” she wrote. “Go big.” She later contended that Seals’ firing was retaliation, at least in part, because of his request for a criminal investigation into allegations that several council members, whom she did not name, traded votes for sexual favors from “exotic dancers.”
Myers has most recently pushed for a public park she says was promised to the small Taylors community off of Shop Road near Williams-Brice Stadium as part of an incentive deal for the new Reign Living student housing development. Some of her fellow council members have questioned whether the agreement with developers tied a $300,000 private donation to a new park or if the money could be used more generally to improve the area.
“I’m a short-timer,” Myers said in an interview with The Post and Courier last week. “This won’t get done, unfortunately, on my watch.”
Four years ago, Richland County voters picked Myers in a special election to replace former councilman Kelvin Washington, who was removed from office after he pleaded guilty to failing to file income tax returns.
County library board member Cheryl English defeated Myers in the Democratic primary in June.
Myers is no longer listed as an attorney “of counsel” at the Turner Padget Graham and Laney law firm in Columbia. They announced hiring her in June 2018.
Surprised she didn't pay more than that.
I looked even though I knew I probably didn’t need to.
“The Lower Richland Democrat was already on her way out of office.”
She was simply trying to get her reparations check! These ppl disgust me to no end!!
Ditto. smh
It isn’t just black politicians that are utterly corrupt. They just don’t hide it as well as the white liberal pukes.
What are they teaching people at law school?
The Governor charged her? Why is the Governor getting involved? Why didnt the Mayor or DA or some other local authority charge her? I suspect it’s because they’re all corrupt and covering for each other. This entire country needs to be cleaned up.
You said what I thought! Isn’t it strange that analytical minds run along he same track?
How could anyone so dumb ever get past the bar exam?
She obviously was not up to speed on the standard RAT response, “I don’t recall”.
The Democrats need to hold fraud/graft classes for their office holders so they know the right way to steal. You set up a company owned by a relative and funnel the loot to them.
Nah. This is how they cull the herd. Play the game, don't get caught and you too can become president!
Wow. The article mentioned her party when she isn’t a republican. The writer and editor are in for it now.
I guessed right.
What are they teaching people at law school?......How to_______ (fill in the blank).
Hey, dontcha know it is BLP — that’s Black Lives Privilege which is really what BLM is.
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