Unexpected Trouble: Beaufort County To Provide Documents to State Grand Jury

Unexpected Trouble: Beaufort County To Provide Documents to State Grand Jury

If you’ve been keeping an eye on goings on in Beaufort County, you may have heard about the recent shenanigans with the local government. Seems like some eyebrow-raising activities have been happening that have caught the attention of state officials. Here’s the lowdown on what’s happening.

Catching Wind of Something Fishy

A grand jury back in South Carolina has been serving up a bunch of subpoenas to Beaufort County. They’re asking for a whole bunch of financial records related to, get this, possible contract, purchasing, and procurement misconduct. That sure sounds like they suspect someone’s been monkeying around with some serious money stuff.

Beaufort County spokesperson, Hannah Nichols, put it out there loud and clear that the county got these requests and isn’t planning to get in the way. Nichols said, “the county is cooperating fully and will comply with the subpoenas to provide all requested documentation“.

What’s on the Subpoena Menu?

Here’s what the state grand jury is busy poking into right now: documents related to county employees’ expense cards, expenditures under the watch of old Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway, and a contract related to construction on a Port Royal inclusive playground. Yup, even a playground is under scrutiny!

An Audit Raising Red Flags

Apparently, there was an audit by a Greenville-based law firm that raised a ton of eyebrows. They found some “flagrant violations” of county procurement code, which blew up like a firecracker in early Spring 2024. Ever since, folks have been trying to get their mitts on this report, but it has only been handed over to law enforcement recently.

Where Do We Go from Here?

The kind of power grand juries wield isn’t possessed by local solicitors. They have a power play that includes being able to run quick investigations, force out testimonies, and subpoena critical documents concerning these pesky cases. This is something that Solicitor Duffie Stone hopes soon changes.

The county didn’t make things easy with their hesitation to release the report, stirring up quite a fuss. Transparency is key in these cases, and any dilly-dallying makes people question their integrity all the more.

So, folks, that’s the whole shebang right now – subpoenas have been issued and it’s all hands on deck in Beaufort County to get this cleared up.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more updates, it’s quite the rock and roll we have here!