Ex-Beaufort Co. parks & rec director hit with ethics fines, reprimand. Will crackdown widen?

For nearly two years, Beaufort County elected officers have been awaiting a spate of expected rulings from the state's ethics commission on accusations of violations against the employees of the administrative team led, at the time, by County Administrator Eric Greenway.

Late October, the former Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Loper was the first employee to get word she has been cited for a pair of ethics violations that come with fines and raise questions about what's to come next.

Understanding the context of this report is to recall the chaos that county's leadership was in during the first seven months of of 2023 prior to the termination of Greenway.

The South Carolina Ethics Commission recently investigated Loper in response to two separate complaints, ultimately finding multiple ethics violations. This inquiry is just one of several investigations against county leaders that may expose a pattern of alleged impropriety across county departments. While the state's ethics commission cited concerns over Loper's authorization of payments to family members and reimbursement procedures, it issued a public reprimand and fine in one case and waived further proceedings in the other.

What is Loper accused of?

Fired in October 2023, Loper is facing accusations that include unauthorized payments to family members, misuse of county equipment and participation in an unapproved almost $800,000 playground purchase.

Loper, who served Beaufort County for over seven years, was hired to a similar role as the interim parks director in Rincon, Georgia , despite the ongoing scrutiny. Then-Rincon City Manager Jonathan Lynn supported her hiring, citing her transparency about the allegations and commitment to ethical governance. He acknowledged, however, that the ongoing ethics investigations could impact her permanent status with the city.

Lynn resigned from his position effective Sept. 3, citing personal reasons for his departure with a media outlet. Following his resignation, Robert Byrd was hired to fill the city manager role; when contacting City Hall regarding Byrd's office, he was unavailable. An employee at Loper's city line stated, "She is no longer here."

Unauthorized payments to family members

At the heart of the complaints against Loper are two allegations: the first alleges she paid family members, including her sons, nearly $7,000 for services such as officiating sports games and cheer camp coaching. The second claim asserts she used county resources for personal property projects. Loper has responded publicly as a guest on former County Council Member Mike Covert's podcast, Beaufort County's House of Cards , defending the necessity and qualifications of her sons' involvement due to challenges in finding other qualified staff for certain activities.

The first complaint, filed in October 2023, involved allegations that Loper authorized payments to her four sons, who worked as independent contractors for the Parks and Recreation department during her tenure. From 2020 to 2023, Loper approved multiple invoices for her sons' work, with payments totaling over $6,600, according to the consent order. This included contracts and authorization for her son Dayton Loper to provide services for the county.

The Commission determined that Loper's actions violated the state's code of laws, specifically provisions prohibiting public employees from participating in decisions that economically benefit their family members, according to the consent order. In response, Loper acknowledged the violations in a consent order but stated she sought advice from Greenway, county legal and finance officials, who approved her actions due to staffing shortages. The consent order also reads that the ethics commission acknowledged that there was no evidence to suggest Loper paid her sons' above standard rates.

The ethics commission issued a public reprimand to Loper, citing five counts of ethics violations, and ordered her to pay a reduced civil penalty of $1,000 along with a $500 administrative fee.

Misuse of county funds

In a second complaint, filed in May 2024, Loper faced allegations of improperly using county funds for personal expenses during a work conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. The complaint claimed she rented a house and a van with county funds for personal excursions, which included sightseeing, dining and visiting a rodeo.

The investigation revealed that Loper used a county-issued p-card to rent a house and van to accommodate five Beaufort County employees, resulting in savings compared to individual hotel bookings. The house rental cost $2,477.57 — about $1,770 less than the estimated cost for separate hotel rooms. Employees used the van for both conference-related and personal activities, with personal expenses shared among the group and no additional cost to the county, according to the decision and order.

While the ethics commission found no evidence of misuse of county funds for these activities, it did discover that Loper had authorized her own reimbursement for daily expenses after the conference, potentially violating ethics rules against self-authorization in transactions with personal financial interest. The commission found probable cause for this violation but waived further proceedings.

The broader issue in Beaufort County

Loper's case is only one in a wave of ethics complaints hitting the county. Former County Attorney Brittany Ward recently resigned amid unrelated scrutiny over a profitable land sale involving her family's property, which was sold to Beaufort County at a significant gain. This sale has raised questions, as it took place while she held her official role. Ward's resignation comes alongside former County Attorney Thomas Keaveny's retirement, which was also marked by controversies, including his involvement in hiring practices and consulting contracts with former employees. Keaveny's tenure showed he had been demoted and later reinstated as county attorney shortly after criticism over a proposed ordinance to curb public speaking at council meetings. The departure of two top county attorneys leaves the county in a leadership transition during a period marked by nine formal complaints against officials. The complaints are as follows: