The former finance director for the state Department of Social Services may have spent more than a million dollars of taxpayers' money on gambling, alcohol and strippers, U.S. Attorney for South Carolina Walt Wilkins says.
Paul Moore, the brother of former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Moore, was arrested last week and charged with the theft of federal program funds, mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. He's accused in a scheme that embezzled $5.5 million from DSS.
Jonathon Moses, 42, of Columbia, is charged with being Moore's co-conspirator. Wilkins says Moore used his position to issue 761 checks over a four-year period to at least 250 people. Wilkins explains that Moore had the checks cut while Moses recruited people to cash them. Those people would cash the checks, which averaged $7,000, keep anywhere from $700 to $1,500 of it for themselves and give the rest to Moses and Moore.
It was Moore's position, and the fact that the checks went to so many different people, that prevented anyone from noticing the missing money, according to the U.S. Attorney. "What the government's alleging at this time is that while Paul Moore was acting as the Director of Finance for the state Department of Social Services, he was able to have checks cut through a special account that he had access to," Wilkins says.
Wilkins says Moore admitted to taking $1.3 million, but investigators don't know where any of the money is. "We have been unable to locate any cash or bank accounts with large sums of money that are owned, directly or indirectly, by Paul Moore," Wilkins says.
Moore also told investigators that he had used the money to pay gambling debts, for his alcohol addiction and for trips to strip clubs.
Eight people have been arrested and charged with cashing checks. No other arrests have been made, but Wilkins says more are expected because more than 250 people cashed checks.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement