Former Myrtle Beach Chamber chair faces February ethics hearing

Robert “Shep” Guyton, the lawyer and former chairman of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, has a hearing before the South Carolina State Ethics Commission on Feb. 15.

Guyton faces 167 ethics charges related to improper campaign contributions made in 2009. The hearing is closed, unless Guyton requests otherwise, and will allow him to present witnesses and evidence in his defense.

Ethics commission Assistant Director Ami Franklin said she did not know how long the hearing might take.

“They have not provided a time line, so until we get there, I really don’t know,” Franklin said.

The commission’s director, Herb Hayden, has previously told The Sun News that the ethics commission would not move forward with Guyton’s case until a criminal investigation ended. Guyton was being investigated in a joint effort between the IRS and FBI.

A lawyer representing Guyton, and Brad Dean, the president and chief executive officer of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, could not be reached by phone.

The charges against Guyton state that he exceeded personal campaign contribution limits by moving money through corporations controlled by him to candidates and other political groups, according to ethics commission documents.

The charges also allege that Guyton broke contribution limits as money was routed to political candidates including Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes, Councilman Wayne Gray, former Councilman Chuck Martino, Councilman Randal Wallace, State Sen. Ray Cleary, State Rep. Alan Clemmons, former State Rep. Thad Viers and Gubernatorial candidate Gresham Barrett.

Viers is currently serving time on a separate federal criminal charge for money laundering. Cleary was reprimanded and fined this week by the South Carolina Senate Ethics Committee for misrepresenting campaign expenditures and improperly documenting them from 2013 to 2015.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Former Myrtle Beach Chamber chair faces February ethics hearing."