Woman accused of embezzling more than $3,000 while working as clerk for Lake City Water and Sewer office

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — A now-former billing clerk for the Lake City Water and Sewer office allegedly stole more than $3,000 from the office, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

SLED agents arrested Jackie Hanna, 43, on Monday and charged her with embezzlement of public funds. She was booked into the Florence County Detention Center and released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, according to online jail records.

An arrest warrant provided to News13 by SLED indicated that Hanna embezzled the money between March and June 2022 by deleting customers’ cash transactions and keeping the cash.

Lake City administrator William A. Hall said in a statement Friday afternoon that Hanna worked as a part-time water billing clerk from November 2021 through July 2022.

According to the warrant, the theft was corroborated by an internal audit and Hanna admitted to taking the money in an interview with authorities.

Hall said in the news release that the city conducted an internal audit of all accounts after Hanna was fired and established “policies and procedures for improved oversight.”

“This is something we take very seriously, and these measures will prevent incidents from happening again,” Hall said. “We audited every transaction during Hanna’s tenure, and impacted accounts were made full.”

The case will be prosecuted by the 12th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.