Acting United States Attorney Kevin F. McDonald stated today that guilty pleas were entered by former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells, Former County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., and Union County residents Willard Dee Farr and Lapriest Darnell Beacham to charges stemming from four separate indictments issued by a federal grand jury in September 2009 as a result of a long term investigation into public corruption in Union County.
1. Former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells pled guilty today in federal court in Spartanburg to lying to federal investigators. Evidence presented at today’s hearing established that Wells made sizeable loans to an individual, resulting in significant interest income to Wells. In March 2009, Wells made false statements to federal law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning his involvement in concealing his receipt of taxable interest income and the existence of documents acknowledging the same. Wells faces a maximum possible sentence of five years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
2. Former Union County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy, extortion, soliciting and accepting bribes, money laundering, structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements, and knowingly allowing the Union County Tax Assessor’s Office to be used as a “stash house” for the storage and distribution of cocaine and hydrocodone. Randall faces a maximum possible sentence of 190 years' imprisonment and a fine of $5.25 million dollars.
In addition, Randall also pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and a mixture containing methamphetamine. Randall faces an additional maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
3. Union County Resident Lapriest Darnell Beacham was also named as a co-defendant in a separate indictment along with Willie E. Randall, Jr. Beacham pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Beacham faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
4. Union County Resident Willard Dee Farr pled guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion. Farr faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
United States District Judge Henry F. Floyd accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the defendants at a later date.
Mr. McDonald stated that the case was investigated by agents of the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and SLED, and that Assistant United States Attorneys Mark C. Moore, Nancy C. Wicker, and J.D. Rowell of the Columbia office prosecuted the cases.
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Information - SC FBI
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