South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced a sixteen-count indictment against former Williamsburg County Supervisor Tiffany Teonta Cooks. The charges, brought by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, allege public corruption. These new indictments follow previous charges from March involving both Cooks and Williamsburg County Sheriff Stephen Renard Gardner.
The latest allegations suggest that Cooks obtained personal profit by having government funds improperly paid to her beyond her legitimate salary. This was allegedly achieved through payments for participation in “community projects.” Additionally, it is claimed that Cooks gave thousands of dollars of government funds to herself and other officials to influence their official duties and allow fraud within the Williamsburg County government.
In March, both Cooks and Gardner faced indictments for conspiring to pay Gardner with government funds under false pretenses, avoiding taxes or withholdings by routing money through third-party checks. It was alleged that Gardner received personal profit above his legitimate salary through these means.
The investigations were conducted by the South Carolina State Grand Jury in collaboration with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Section. The prosecution team includes Chief Attorney of the State Grand Jury Section Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General S. Creighton Waters, Assistant Attorney General Savanna Goude, and Assistant Attorney General Walt Whitmire.
Attorney General Wilson emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
