Former Myrtle Beach chamber chairman admits to ethics violations, fined thousands
A former Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce chairman signed a consent order admitting to unintentionally violating the state’s Ethics Act by exceeding campaign contributions in 2009.
Robert “Shep” Guyton signed the order Tuesday, just two days before he was scheduled to appear before the South Carolina Ethics Commission in Columbia.
The case, which was delayed multiple times after being filed in January 2010, was the oldest on the commission’s docket.
The consent order states that Guyton, an attorney, instructed his bookkeeper in 2009 to order numerous cashier’s checks from 14 different limited liability companies, and 148 checks totaling $183,000 were given to candidates by Brant Branham, another former chamber chairman.
The checks, which were excessive by law since Guyton had already provided these candidates the maximum allowed, were given to: gubernatorial candidate Gresham Barrett; Myrtle Beach mayoral candidate John Rhodes; Myrtle Beach city council candidates William Gray, Charles Martino and Randal Wallace; state Senate candidate Raymond Cleary; and state House candidates Liston Barfield, Thad Viers, Nelson Hardwick, George Hearn and Alan Clemmons, according to the order.
Guyton admitted to violating the state Ethics Act, but the order states that his violation was “due to his mistaken interpretation of the Act.”
Guyton did not respond to a message left at his law office.
As a result of Guyton’s admission, the State Ethics Commission issued him a public reprimand and ordered he pay a civil penalty of $28,000 and administrative fee of $5,000 for a total of $33,000, due within a year.
Guyton was facing 167 ethics violations with potential fines of up to $2,000 per violation.
In 2016, he was under investigation by the FBI and IRS, which declined to pursue criminal charges.
Guyton also was recently involved in the purchase of the former Hard Rock Park, most recently called Freestyle Music Park.
The property, located across the waterway off U.S. 501, was purchased a few days after Christmas for $3,545,000 by FTPP Bishop Parkway LLC, according to Horry County tax records. Guyton is the listed agent for the LLC, according to the S.C. Secretary of State website.
This story was originally published January 15, 2019 at 12:16 PM.
