An Upstate, South Carolina political consultant linked to a host of financial irregularities involving his clients’ campaign funds – and in some cases their personal money – is in custody a little over a year after his alleged victims requested an investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Tyler Hoover of Greenville, S.C. was arrested on Monday by SLED agents and booked at the Greenville county detention center. According to online arrest records, he is facing two counts of breach of trust (greater than $2000 but less than $10,000), two counts of forgery and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses.
This news outlet has requested copies of the indictments against Hoover …
Regular readers of this news outlet will recall that Hoover – owner of Hoover Strategies – was implicated by multiple former clients in connection with various alleged financial chicaneries. Sources familiar with the situation told us Hoover used his ill-gotten funds to feed an alleged gambling addiction.
One client of Hoover’s – former deputy U.S. Secret Service director A.T. “Tommy” Smith – told us last spring that the consultant wrote “fraudulent checks for media buys that I had (already) paid him for from my campaign account.”
Hoover was also accused of forging the name of another one of his clients – Brandi Holcombe of Simpsonville, S.C – on at least one check. Holcombe had planned on seeking the GOP nomination for S.C. House District 21 (.pdf) last winter when it appeared the seat would be coming open.
Other clients accused Hoover of taking “retainer fees” from them but then failing to do any work – although that’s not exactly unique when it comes to any number of Palmetto political consultants.
One of these clients – Stacy Kuper of Greenville, S.C. – fired Hoover last January, citing a “lack of deliverables for my campaign needs” and his alleged failure to refund a recent deposit “as promised.”
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Upstate grassroots activist Jennifer Patterson also accused Hoover of failing to pay her more than $10,000 she was owed – and of attempting to blackball her within the Palmetto political consulting world when she complained about how she was treated.
Patterson told our news outlet last spring she was considering a civil action against Hoover to recover the money allegedly owed to her.
Meanwhile, a political consultant who worked with Hoover on a recent campaign claimed to have been stiffed in the amount of $5,000 for political mailings – prompting another lawsuit threat.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Hoover is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter an allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.
Developing …
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