South Carolina Indicts Five Williamsburg County Officials for $400K Public Corruption Scheme

A South Carolina state grand jury indicted Williamsburg County Treasurer Margaret Kimba W. Cooper and four former county officials, including suspended Sheriff Stephen Renard Gardner and former Supervisor Tiffany Teonta Cooks, on multiple public corruption charges. Between February 2020 and December 2022, the officials allegedly accepted payments totaling nearly $400,000 above their approved salaries while other county employees were furloughed. Charges against Cooper include misconduct in office, use of official position for financial gain, ethics violations, and criminal conspiracy. Gardner and Cooks were previously indicted for money laundering and other corruption-related charges, with Gardner suspended from office and replaced by an interim sheriff. The indictments are part of a wider investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Section, with prosecution led by senior assistant attorneys general. Past investigations revealed questionable salary increases and misuse of federal funds among county officials, intensifying scrutiny of Williamsburg County's leadership.