Jasper Co. woman was supposed to watch over public funds. Police say she stole $274K instead

A Ridgeland woman was arrested Thursday morning and charged with embezzling more than $274,000 while she worked at the Jasper County Finance Office, according to a S.C. Law Enforcement Division news release.

Denise Smith, 56, was charged with embezzlement of public funds valuing more than $10,000, the release said. The estimated total amount of money she embezzled is $274,175, according to the arrest warrant.

Smith allegedly embezzled money from the county between August 2012 and December 2017, the warrant said. Smith wrote numerous invoices for Ken’s Tree Service — which does not exist — sent them to the Jasper County Treasurer’s Office and got the invoices paid in full each time to a South State Bank account, the warrant said.

Surveillance video from the bank shows Smith “withdrawing the embezzled funds for her own personal gain,” the warrant said.

While employed with the finance department, she had the responsibility of safekeeping, transferring, and disbursing public funds, the warrant said.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office requested the S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigation and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case, the release said.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 10:42 AM.