Town Employee Arrested on Embezzlement Charges

A Town of Mount Pleasant employee is facing criminal charges of embezzlement of public funds following an investigation by town officials and the Mount Pleasant police.

Candice Bottorff, 65, an employee in the town's human resources department, was booked into the county jail Monday morning.

The town has released a formal statement from Town Administrator Eric DeMoura:

“It is with regret that I inform the residents of our town that a Mount Pleasant employee has been terminated from her employment based on an audit led by the Finance Department and a confession secured by the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

Following an investigation from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Candice Bottorff, a Human Resources Technician with five years of work experience with the Town, has been arrested on charges of embezzling $52,239.

Our disappointment is great - both on behalf of the community and on behalf of the employees of the Town of Mount Pleasant.

We work hard to build a corporate culture that demands integrity, honesty and transparency from all our employees. We strive daily to meet these goals and we have controls in place to uphold these standards.

Our auditors review our cash handling policies and make recommendations. Our annual audits spot-check cash transactions. Yet, despite our fiscal controls, Ms. Bottorff was able to steal funds.

We are fully insured and will recover the financial loss, but the breach of trust will be harder to repair. This person has let the community and her co-workers down and will be held accountable for her actions. The Town of Mount Peasant has NO tolerance for such actions and we plan to prosecute Ms. Bottorff to the full extent of the law.

Finally, I would like to commend the individuals who have upheld our values at this difficult time: our Finance Division for uncovering the missing funds and our Police Department for conducting a swift and thorough investigation.”