COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the Darlington Grand Jury has returned indictments against fourteen Darlington County residents. All are charged with one count of Fraudulent Acquisition or Use of Food Stamps:
Jennifer Allsbrook (DOB 1983), Hartsville
Sherlwin Carter (DOB 1989), Hartsville
Ammie Cotton (DOB 1975), Hartsville
Yvette Cotton (DOB 1976) , Hartsville
Kimberly Covington (DOB 1984), Hartsville
Vera Durant (DOB 1969), Darlington (highest felony)
Angela Easterling (DOB 1986), Hartsville
Kenyetta George (DOB 1989) , Hartsville
Nadja Hawkins (DOB 1993), Hartsville
Sandra Larts (DOB 1962), Hartsville
Remonica Peterson (DOB 1975), Hartsville
Rashanda Wheeler (DOB 1979) , Hartsville (highest felony)
Alexander White, Jr. (DOB 1992), Hartsville
Tyneisha Williams (DOB 1992), Hartsville
Rashanda Wheeler and Vera Durant are charged with a felony and could face a $5,000 fine and ten years in prison – the others are also charged with a felony and face a $500 fine and five years imprisonment.
The case will be prosecuted by the Assistant Attorney General Nicole T. Wetherton. The cases were investigated by Special Agent Condie Johnson from the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS).
Under the South Carolina SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) – Prosecution Pilot Program, a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides funding for a DSS investigator to look into allegations of food stamp fraud, and a dedicated prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute these cases.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.