Charleston Women Sentenced for Defrauding Crisis Ministries

Contact Person: Rhett DeHart (843) 727-4381

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Carol Libby, age 56, was sentenced today in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, for Wire Fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.  United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel of Charleston sentenced Libby to 48 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release.

Evidence presented at her guilty plea hearing established that Libby was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Crisis Ministries, the largest homeless charity in South Carolina.  From 2006-2013, Libby, a certified public accountant (CPA), embezzled more than $440,000 from the charity.  To execute the fraud, Libby caused more than 400 unauthorized checks to be issued to actual vendors and suppliers of Crisis Ministries.  She then forged the names of the vendors on the back of the checks and wrote her bank account number under the forged endorsements.  Through a series of financial manipulations involving wire communications, Libby caused the unauthorized checks to be deposited into bank accounts over which she had control. 

The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service and Charleston Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Rhett DeHart of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.