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Ex-Richland One employee accused of taking money has bond hearing

In total, the attorney general's office said Braddy defrauded the district of over $23,000.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former Richland One employee accused of using school funds for his personal use made his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.

Travis Antonio Braddy, 43, is facing a 12 count indictment that accuses him of misconduct while he worked as the Richland One procurement officer. During Thursday's hearing Judge Clifton Newman gave Braddy a $50,000 personal recognizance bond, which means he doesn't have to pay any money up front to be released from jail. 

Newman told Braddy he cannot leave the state while he's free on bond. 

The South Carolina Attorney General's Office announced an indictment against Braddy Wednesday. Prosecutors said he resigned from the district in May of 2021 on grounds of insubordination.  

According to the indictment, the case involves the use of what's known as purchasing cards, or P-cards, issued by the district. Those credit cards are used by organizations to make purchases for official business expenses. 

Among the claims are that Braddy used his card to book rooms at a Hilton Garden hotel in Columbia. Prosecutors said he then claimed in falsified invoices that he was using the money to buy excess protective equipment from the hotel for COVID protection equipment for the district's use. Instead, prosecutors say he used the $3,358.16 for personal use. 

As part of the same effort, the indictment said Braddy rented a GMC Yukon with money that had been approved to rent a box truck to deliver COVID protective equipment to schools. Prosecutors said he used the SUV for his personal use and continued to use it even after he left the district. In all ,the indictment said that cost $10,424.25.

And finally, the attorney general's office said that he created a fake purchase order to sent school district money to a "sham" company and account which prosecutor said was under the control of a person closed to him. The indictment alleges this used $9,388 for district money.

In total, the attorney general's office said Braddy defrauded the district of $23,170.41  They said if convicted, he will face a maximum of 54 years in prison. 

A spokesperson for Richland School District One released the following statement following the indictment. 

“The discrepancies were discovered through our system of internal controls and checks and balances. We turned over what we found through our investigation to law enforcement. As an added measure, there are different levels of authorization for P-Card holders depending on the positions they hold in the district and their purchasing needs.”

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