A South Carolina councilwoman was indicted and suspended from office after she allegedly used public money to fund a trip to Newark, NJ to meet Magic Johnson.
According to the Post and Courier news outlet, Richland County Council Vice Chairwoman Dahli Myers was indicted on Friday and suspended from office for using her government credit card to pay for trips out of the country, gourmet chocolates, books and a cellphone.
Myers, a Democrat, claimed the trip to Greece was for research to “grow her knowledge about local governments.”
She is also charged with using public funds to pay for a trip to Newark, NJ to meet with NBA legend Magic Johnson and retired NFL player Richard Seymour. According to a state grand jury indictment, Myers wanted to speak to the former athletes about something but it’s unclear what she met with them to discuss.
“When questioned about the county expenses, Myers, a Hopkins resident who was first elected in 2016, made up false explanations for why the card purchases were legitimate county expenses, the grand jury found. The charges against Myers include misconduct in office, using her government position for personal gain, embezzlement, writing a fraudulent check and misusing her campaign money for personal expenses.”
Myers initially agreed to pay the county back for her illegal use of public funds. But she later changed her mind and blamed the county for not monitoring her credit card spending.
“It’s not my fault; it’s your fault because y’all weren’t monitoring my card,” Myers reportedly said.
Myers faces a total of 24 charges. She was already set to leave office after her primary defeat.