A year after a Post and Courier investigation revealed that six clerks of court across South Carolina paid themselves with federal money marked for efforts to recover child support payments, criminal charges have been filed against one. So far, however, the others seem to have escaped similar scrutiny.
The State Law Enforcement Division previously opened an investigation into a salary increase for another clerk, but a spokesperson confirmed that it is not looking into four other current and former clerks who spent the money on themselves or their staff. That includes clerks in Barnwell, Chesterfield, Hampton and Jasper counties.
This month, SLED charged former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill with misconduct in office, in part for using the child support money to pad her salary. According to the charging documents, she also gave herself a separate bonus with clerk’s office funds.
Those allegations were included in a series of charges related to her conduct during and after Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial.
Sue Berkowitz, policy director at the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, questioned whether SLED’s main focus was Hill’s high-profile role in the convicted killer’s case, and the misallocation allegations were just “piling it on.”
“It’s very odd that they would put that in the arrest warrant and hear that there are four others and not do anything with it,” she said. “If it’s illegal for one clerk, why is it not illegal for all?”
SLED did not answer questions about why it has not charged the four current and former clerks. Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, declined to comment. Efforts to reach the president of the state’s clerk association were unsuccessful.
The S.C. Department of Social Services disburses the federal money to counties, where it is supposed to be used to subsidize the cost of enforcing child support orders. The agency said it still trusts clerks to spend the money prudently.
DSS does not monitor how clerks use the cash. Clerks must report their total expenses, but not provide an itemized list, the agency said in a statement.
“DSS is not required to see how the clerks are spending the money. It is presumed that they will spend it responsibly and use good judgment,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement, echoing the position it stated a year before.
The federal government distributes cash to state agencies under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act to help enforce child support orders. DSS through its Child Support Services Division sends some of the money to county clerks of court, who can help find parents delinquent in their child support payments.
State agencies must sign agreements with the federal government in order to receive the money. DSS agreed to administer the funds in ways that prevented misuse. State law requires that the money be used for “activities related to the establishment, collection, and enforcement of child support obligations.” Any amount not dedicated to child support enforcement reverts to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year, per state law.
The U.S. Office of Child Support Services did not respond to inquiries about how it regulates the program. DSS has not answered questions about how much money it disburses to clerks. According to a 2024 report, DSS spent almost $30 million in federal money on child support enforcement that fiscal year.
Two clerks who pocketed federal money remain in office.
Barnwell County Clerk Rhonda McElveen used the IV-D money to give herself and staff $1,000 bonuses at the end of 2021. She previously told The Post and Courier that DSS gave her permission to distribute the cash.
Chesterfield County Clerk Christy Gaddy received $5,000 from the fund in November 2023, along with members of her staff. She listed financial records for the transaction as “add. income” and later submitted paperwork reporting she spent 12 minutes each day on child support cases.
Former Hampton County Clerk Mylinda Nettles received $9,000 in a March 2022 bonus, which she attributed to extra workload. She previously told the newspaper that the county administrator and human resource department signed off on the payment.
Recently retired Jasper County Clerk Margaret Bostick distributed $45,000 in pay bumps to herself and staff between 2021 and 2023.
SLED previously said it was investigating former Williamsburg County Clerk Sharon Staggers, who used the IV-D money to give herself a $30,000 annual raise after the county council declined her request for additional pay. A spokesperson with the criminal agency said she did not have any information about the case at the moment.
Staggers’ decision led the county to ask the S.C. Attorney General’s Office to weigh in on whether her salary increase was legal.
In a December 2023 opinion, the AG’s office found that the money could be used for the clerk’s salary if it was attributed to the “establishment, collection, and enforcement of child support obligations.”
Otherwise, they were “skeptical” clerks could use the money to supplement their own salary.
No charges have been filed against Staggers.
