Beaufort County town’s clerk arrested for defrauding her fellow citizens, police say

After an almost yearlong investigation, Yemassee’s town clerk has been placed on administrative leave and was arrested and accused of fraudulently taking almost $8,000 from the town, according to a Yemassee Police Department news release on Tuesday.

Misty Reardon Moorer, 33, of Walterboro, faces a felony charge of breach of trust with fraudulent intent after allegedly over-reporting the hours she worked to gain an extra $7,773, according to the police department. She was arrested on March 14 when she arrived at town hall to work.

She was jailed in Hampton County Detention Center and released on bond, according to police.

The police department began its investigation around Easter of 2017 when “irregularities” in Moorer’s work hours and pay were noticed and she was frequently absent from work altogether.

“The hours that Ms. Moorer logged on her timesheet differed substantially from that of the previous town clerk, which raised a red flag to town council,” according to the police news release. “During a week in April 2017, Ms. Moorer was absent from work the entire week, however claimed on her timesheet that she was working and received compensation for that time.”

Police checked town hall surveillance footage against the clerk’s timesheets to find she had reported over 70 hours of work that she allegedly did not complete, according to the release.

Not all of Moorer’s work weeks could be checked using the camera system, but police say she falsely reported during:

“The week of July 5 - July 11, 2017. Moorer worked 38:15 hours but reported 55:30 hours.

The week of Oct. 4 - Oct. 10, 2017. Moorer worked 44:55 hours but reported 70 hours.

The week of Jan. 10 - Jan. 16, 2018. Moorer worked 40:26 hours but reported 54 hours.

The week of Feb. 28 - March 6, 2018. Moorer worked 39:29 hours but reported 50 hours.

The week of March 7 - March 13, 2018. Moorer worked 35:54 hours but reported 40 hours.”

Police do not have any information to indicate she falsely reported her work hours other than the weeks listed above, police spokesman Matt Garnes said Tuesday afternoon.

The Yemassee Town Council released a statement, saying it “will not be making any statements to the media regarding Ms. Moorer as this is an ongoing investigation.”

The town will be posting a job opening for the town clerk position soon, Garnes said. Garnes is also the assistant town clerk and will take over as interim town clerk until the position is filled, he said.

This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Beaufort County town’s clerk arrested for defrauding her fellow citizens, police say."