Criminal probe into former Bluffton fire chief closed, ethics complaint remains
An investigation into allegations of criminal embezzlement involving the former Bluffton Township Fire District Chief has been closed, according to the investigating agency, The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
No charges were filed against the fire department’s former leader, Paul Boulware, according to SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich. However, a formal hearing into ethics complaints made against Boulware remain on the table.
“Chief Boulware is pleased that the investigation undertaken by SLED has been concluded with a finding of no wrongdoing on his part, which is precisely as it should be,” said Boulware’s attorney, Patrick Carr, in a phone interview Thursday.
Last March, SLED was asked by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office to investigate the embezzlement allegations. The request came weeks after Boulware was replaced suddenly by one of his deputies and Beaufort County opened an internal probe into the fire district’s leadership.
By April, findings from that probe were referred to the South Carolina Ethics Commission in a formal complaint drafted by Beaufort County Attorney Brian Hulbert.
Ex-fire chief faces ethics hearing
Despite the criminal case being cleared, Boulware still faces a formal hearing with the state’s ethics commission this spring to determine if he improperly benefited financially from his position or failed to provide a written recusal in a promotion decision involving his son.
The complaint documents a long list of allegations made against the former fire chief, but the ethics commission has only found reasonable cause to further investigate two complaints: whether Boulware knowingly used his position as chief to authorize a nearly $14,000 payout to himself for unused vacation time, and whether he failed to provide a written recusal for himself from a decision that promoted his son to station captain in 2023.
The county started to receive complaints during the former chief’s brief retirement in early 2025, according to the report.
Under state rules for departments covered by the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority, fire chiefs may retire and return to work after a 30-day break in service if certain conditions are met. It was during this short retirement period that the allegations about Boulware’s conduct were relayed to county leadership.
“Chief Boulware is disappointed that he is having to respond to false allegations against him,” said Carr. “We intend to clear his name, and we expect a similar conclusion to the State Ethics Commission investigation, because he has not done anything wrong.”
