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by ANDY FANCHER
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Agents with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have opened a criminal investigation into the town of Great Falls in Chester County, S.C. confirming the probe began last month following allegations of fraud.
A SLED spokesperson said the agency was requested on July 7, 2025, by newly appointed town administrator Josh Glenn to investigate “allegations of fraud within the town.”
The request was reviewed, and the investigation formally began two weeks ago – on July 30, 2025.
Glenn — and former mayoral and council candidate Ashlee Kim — said they turned “well over” 1,000 pages of financial records, prior audits and related documents after months of combing through town accounts in the midst of persistent political turmoil on council.
Glenn said the records pointed to “straight felonies” and revealed “there’s no structure, no standard operating procedures.”
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?? SLED LAUNCHES CRIMINAL PROBE INTO TOWN OF GREAT FALLS
— Andrew Fancher (@RealAndyFancher) August 13, 2025
? Chester County, South Carolina
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (#SLED) has opened a criminal investigation into the Town of Great Falls, confirming the probe began last month following allegations of fraud.… pic.twitter.com/FYMZpptaQv
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The state investigation comes amid entrenched political divisions in the town of fewer than 1,900 residents, where four recently elected members hold a voting majority.
Former mayor Josh Brantley, aligned with the minority, resigned in January after being accused of writing checks to himself from the general fund — allegations he denies, saying the withdrawals were reimbursements for recreation equipment.
“I’ve learned some things in this process,” Brantley told FITSNews on Tuesday. “People can’t work together unless they’re in it for the same purpose.”
Before stepping down, Brantley and politically aligned councilwoman Tiffany Craig said they worked with then–police chief Olen F. Martin III to pursue a SLED referral based on the findings of an independent audit, but those efforts failed.
That same audit — later brought back into focus by Martin’s successor, Kim Benenhaley — had recommended criminal charges against former town clerks Candace Ingram and Julie Blackwell for the alleged illegal handling of public records.
The 74-page report, later obtained by FITSNews, stated that “thousands” of pages of financial documents appeared to be missing, with only 66 produced — a gap that prevented the auditor from determining whether public funds had been properly used.
Benenhaley, appointed in November 2024 as the town’s fifth police chief in three years, launched a criminal investigation into the rediscovered audit the day after Brantley’s resignation. She and Kim were also compiling records of “alleged corruption” for possible referral to a federal agency.
Come June 2025, FITSNews accompanied Glenn, Benenhaley and Kim into the basement of town hall — a dark, damp, mold-ridden space resembling a dungeon.
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Navigating by cell phone flashlight, they moved through a maze of confidential documents steeped in water damage and spores. Among their discoveries were blank checkbooks tied to previously unknown bank accounts and nonprofits.
“There’s a lot of red flags inside these four walls,” Glenn said at the time. “This isn’t just record mismanagement.”
Benenhaley resigned later that month, texting FITSNews there was “nobody to trust” in town government and that “something (was) being covered up,” adding that without outside intervention, “all of this mess will continue and somebody is going to get hurt.”
Since her departure, Glenn and Kim claim to have found at least 23 bank accounts unknown to council, some tied to credit cards from prior administrations that showed recent purchases.
According to SLED, the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
(Dynal Nolan/FITSNews)
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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5 comments
23 bank accounts some recently active and nobody knows nothing? In the big scheme of things this is not a lot of money but is a good example of how money, particularly public money, attracts those easily tempted to dip onto the well so to speak.
Of course these small municipalities find it hard to pay for qualified employees to manage the books and so it becomes a shoot by the hip and try to keep up. The council votes on playground equipment and the mayor goes and finds the stuff, lines up delivery and pays for it with his own card. The town cuts a check back to the mayor but the receipt for the playground stuff is thrown away and now it looks like the mayor took money for nothing.
In addition in this small a village today you get factions and turf wars. These factions all fight among themselves and never accomplish anything. Year after year they squabble about the mill properties and never do anything good for the people. It’s stagnation by idiot. And now after what, a couple of decades, is SLED going to do with this? Not much.
Statute of limitations has run out on most of this I suspect and besides it would be nearly impossible to prosecute anyway given the plausible deniability of it all.
People need to be held accountable for their actions and mismanagement of the towns money. There should be no statute of limitations on imbeselment.
People need to be held accountable for their actions and mismanagement of the towns money. There should be no statute of limitations on imbeselment.
SLED’s hands are tied on Charleston city government? If so, why?
Glenn is the leader of the corruption now. Along with Kim and the other 4 corrupt council members. The only thing true about this is the corruption did start long ago. So make sure the ones with badges, judges and the ones with money are punished too!