Four guilty pleas in South Carolina corruption investigation
January 15th, 2010 - 3:09 pm ICT by BNO NewsCOLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) – Four guilty pleas were entered in South Carolina courts Thursday to charges stemming from separate indictments issued by a federal grand jury investigation into public corruption in Union County.
Former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells pled guilty in federal court to lying to federal investigators. Evidence presented at the hearings established that Wells made significant loans to an individual, resulting in sizable interest income to Wells. In March 2009, Wells made false statements to federal law enforcement agents from the FBI concerning his involvement in concealing his receipt of taxable interest income and the existence of documents acknowledging so. Wells faces a maximum possible sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Former Union County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy, extortion, soliciting and accepting bribes, money laundering, structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements, and knowingly allowing the Union County Tax Assessor’s office to be used as a “stash house” for the storage and distribution of cocaine and hydrocodone. Randall faces a maximum possible sentence of 190 years imprisonment and a fine of $5.25 million dollars.
In addition, Randall also pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and a mixture of methamphetamine. Randall faces an additional maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
Union County resident Lapriest Darnell Beacham was also named as a co-defendant in a separate indictment along with Willie E. Randall, Jr. Beacham pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and he faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars. Union County resident Willard Dee Farr pled guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion. Farr faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
A U.S. District Judge accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the defendants at a later date. The case was investigated by agents of the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
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