Ex-state worker arrested for stealing thousands in pandemic assistance money, SC cops say
A Columbia woman who used to work for the state of South Carolina was recently arrested for her role in a scam where she stole thousands in pandemic assistance money, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Kimberly Harris, 49, was charged with a first-degree computer crime, forgery, insurance fraud and breach of trust (obtaining a signature under false pretenses), SLED said Wednesday in a news release.
Harris was an analyst with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce until 2020, according to the release. It was the employment department that asked the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to conduct an investigation in October 2020, SLED said. The S.C. Attorney General’s Office referred the request to SLED in April 2021, according to the release.
Her charges stem from incidents that occurred between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 in 2020, arrest warrants show.
Harris “did with the intent to cheat and defraud, obtained money by false pretense in connection with unemployment insurance benefits,” an arrest warrant said. “Harris fraudulently assumed the identity of numerous family members, friends and acquaintances using their personal identifying information to file unemployment benefits with S.C. DEW, falsely certifying that these individuals were self-employed, with their business shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore fraudulently received” more than $10,000 that she wasn’t entitled to have.
Information about exactly how much money was taken in the scam wasn’t available, although one of the arrest warrants listed the amount as less than $50,000. There was no word about what, if anything, Harris did with the money.
As a part of the scam, Harris “knowingly made a false statement or misrepresentation with the intent of an undeserved economic advantage or benefit,” according to an arrest warrant. She also falsely forged and published “as true several false instruments of writing” to get the unemployment benefits, another arrest warrant said.
Harris also faces a charge for using “a computer, computer system or computer network for the purpose of devising or executing a scheme or artifice to defraud,” a separate arrest warrant shows.
Harris was arrested Feb. 13, and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, SLED said. Richland County court records show that a $50,000 bond was posted Feb. 14, and Harris is not currently listed on the jail’s inmate roster.
Her case will be prosecuted by a special prosecutor assigned to the state employment department by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, according to the release. Columbia attorney Todd Rutherford, who’s also the minority leader in the South Carolina House of Representatives, was previously listed as Harris’ lawyer, Richland County court records show.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Ex-state worker arrested for stealing thousands in pandemic assistance money, SC cops say."
