Former Union County SC clerk worker stole 18K from office. Will she go to prison?

A former supervisor at the Union County Clerk of Court Office was sentenced to 18 months in prison Thursday, after pleading guilty to stealing about $18,000 in money from the office, prosecutors said.

Julia Phipps pleaded guilty to embezzlement of public money and misconduct in office, prosecutors said. Phipps also will be on probation for three years, prosecutors said.

Phipps, 41, is the latest Union County official to be sent to prison for stealing in the county that shares a the 16th Judicial Circuit with York County.

Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett of York County, the top prosecutor for both Union and York counties, and assistant solicitor Matthew Hogge prosecuted the case against Phipps.

Brackett spoke in court, saying that Phipps should serve prison time because the crime was against the public trust. Phipps took the money for about five years, until she was arrested in 2017, arrest warrants stated.

Phipps was set to pay back $10,000 of the money Thursday, and has to pay back around $8,000 while on probation, court officials said.

Phipps was sentenced to 18 months in prison by 16th Circuit Judge Dan Hall of York.

The former sheriff, tax assessor, clerk of court and a supervisor in Union County were sent to prison in recent years, after being found guilty of crimes in office.