Former SC city clerk stole more than $200K in public money to go shopping, cops say
A former city clerk was arrested for scamming the town where she worked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said.
The stolen money was used to pay for clothing, food, and utility bills totaling over $200,000, according to an arrest warrant.
Tammy Renea Sarvis, 48, was charged with embezzlement of public funds with a value of $10,000 or more, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby said in a news release.
Sarvis was the city clerk for the Town of Scranton in Florence County, according to the release. From 2018 to 2021, she’s accused of using the town’s credit cards to go shopping, SLED said.
As the city clerk Sarvis was responsible for the safekeeping, transfer and disbursement of public funds, according to the arrest warrant.
On Wednesday, Sarvis was booked at the Florence County Detention Center, and was released after posting $5,000 bond, jail records show.
If convicted, Sarvis would face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a fine determined by the court, according to South Carolina law.
The SLED investigation was requested by the Town of Scranton.
This is not the first time Sarvis was charged with committing a financial crime. In 1996, she was convicted on a fraudulent check charge, Florence County court records show.
This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Former SC city clerk stole more than $200K in public money to go shopping, cops say."
