Horry County gym co-owner accused of embezzling $150K from business, report says
One of the co-owners of an Horry County gym is accused of embezzling more than $150,000 from the business, according to a police report.
Officers have made no arrests in the case. The police listed the co-owner and his wife as “suspects” in the incident report.
One owner of American Fitness, 3334 S. Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet, told Horry police he owns 50 percent of the gym. The suspect co-owner and his wife each own 25 percent.
The reporting owner said he was traveling for six months for his pharmaceutical business and wasn’t at the gym to monitor records, the report says.
The suspect had his own business selling “supplementals” that was doing well, but lost several large customers, according to the report.
Financial records showed loans taken out in the gym’s name, including one for $150,000. Some of the loan payments were repaid — about $60,000 — from business accounts. Altered loan documents showed the suspect as the sole owner, according to the report.
There were also other loans that totaled a $5,000 a week loss for the business.
The suspect also took about $23,000 that was intended for rent, the report states. He and his wife were spotted multiple times taking $100 or more from the register, police said.
The suspect’s wife ordered items for their house and there were almost daily $150 withdrawals from the bank to pay Amazon, the report states. Two business checks, one for $5,000 and another for $7,000, were also written out to cash.
At one point, the reporting owner confronted his partner, who admitted to taking money “out of desperation,” according to the report. Several days later, the suspect transferred $10,000 from the business account to his personal account and the reporting owner made him put the money back.
Police have not determined the total amount taken from the business, but estimate it is more than $150,000.
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 1:32 PM.
