RICHLAND, SC – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today the South Carolina State Grand Jury has issued a 24-count indictment regarding allegations of public corruption by Richland County Councilwoman Dalhi Myers.
The Attorney General thanked the State Grand Jury Division staff and the agencies that worked on the case. “This Office is committed to rooting out corruption in state and local government wherever it may be, and the State Grand Jury is a particularly effective tool in pursuing those who would violate the public trust,” he added.
According to the indictment, expended public funds belonging to Richland County, which were entrusted to her care in the form of a Richland County purchasing card, in order to pay personal expenses and debts, including but not limited to those arising from personal travel, lodging, dining, shopping, telecommunications, gifts to individuals both related and unrelated to her, and to non-person entities with which she is associated, and thereafter provided false and inconsistent explanations for the expenditures to conceal the absence of any link between the expenses and legitimate government business. Therefore, MYERS did, by malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance, commit acts and omissions in breach of her duties of good faith, honesty, and accountability to the public.
The state said Meyers use public funds to pay for a personal trip to Greece, including but not limited to airfare, lodging, food, drink, and duty free goods, and thereafter provided false and inconsistent explanations for the expenditures to conceal the absence of any link between the expenses and legitimate government business.
On December 17, 2020 the State Grand Jury issued an indictment of Councilwoman Dalhi Myers for the following offenses:
2020-GS–47-21 (Richland County)
Count 1: Misconduct in Office, Common Law: 0-10 years
Count 2: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 3: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 4: Use of Official Position or Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation,
S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 5: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 6: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 7: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 8: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 9: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 10: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 11: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 12: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 13: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 14: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 years
Count 15: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 16: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 17: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 18: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 19: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 20: Use of Official Position of Office for Financial Gain Ethics Act Violation, S.C.
Code Ann. § 8-13-700(A) – CDR 0673: 0-1 year
Count 21: Embezzlement, S.C Code Ann. § 16-13-210 – CDR 3460: 0-5 years
Count 22: Drawing and Uttering Fraudulent Check, Value more the $5,000, S.C.
Code Ann. § 34-11-60 – CDR 3386: 0-1 years
Count 23: Misconduct in the Office, Common Law – CDR 2985: 0-10 years
Count 24: Use of Campaign Funds for Personal Expenses Ethics Act Violation,
S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-1348(A) – CDR 298: 0-1 years
The indictments generally allege that (1) Councilwoman Dalhi Myers expended public funds belonging to Richland County for personal use in the form of a Richland County purchasing card and thereafter provided false and inconsistent explanations for the expenditures to conceal the absence of any link to legitimate government business. Such expenditures include, but are not limited to (A) the costs of a personal trip to the state of Georgia including lodging, food and drink, and fuel for her personal vehicle; (B) repairs to her personal vehicle; (C) airfare for a personal trip to Detroit Michigan; (D) the costs of a personal trip to Greece including airfare, lodging, food and drink, and duty free goods; (E) the costs of a personal trip to Northern Illinois University including airfare for herself and family, lodging, food and drink, consumer technology, and vehicle rental; (F) lodging, food and drink, from the Gaylord Opryland House in Nashville, Tennessee; (G) consumer goods purchased from and debts owed to Verizon Communications Inc. and/or its subsidiaries; (H) consumer goods for personal use purchased at Staples, Inc. including consumer technology, food, and drinks; (I) goods for personal use from Sam’s club including clothing, gift cards, and snacks; (J) goods for personal use from Barnes and Noble including books, premium chocolates, and membership subscriptions; (K) goods and services from SmartPhone Medic for the repair of her personal phone. The indictment alleges further that (2) Myers knowingly drafted a check payable to Richland county in the amount of $27,000 from an account that lacked sufficient funds on deposit to pay the same on presentation and (3) expended funds from her campaign account to pay personal debts owed by her business, Myers Business Lawyer, LLC., to LexisNexis.
The case was investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, which was assisted in this case by a partnership of the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Division, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the South Carolina Ethics Commission, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. The case will be prosecuted by State Grand Jury Division Chief Attorney S. Creighton Waters, Assistant Attorney General Johnny Ellis James, Jr., and Assistant Attorney General John Conrad.
Attorney General Alan Wilson stresses that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.