Former CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Grand Strand indicted on embezzlement charges
The former CEO and executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Grand Strand is facing charges related to allegations of embezzling more than $100,000 from the nonprofit, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday.
The grand jury indictments allege that Dione Buonto used money from the organization to pay for personal items, including hair and beauty products, home decor, moving expenses, tuition for her son and personal travel for her and her family members, the office stated in a news release.
She also issued bonus checks to herself without board approval, according to the indictment, which alleges the crimes occurred from December 2014 to January 2020.
Buonto had worked at the organization since 2013 and as its chief officer since 2016 before she was let go in January 2020. Then-board chair Kim Hardee told The Sun News in April 2020 that the decision was related to “some discrepancies” they discovered, and Myrtle Beach Police confirmed she was the subject of an active investigation.
Hardee, who is no longer a board member, said Wednesday she is pleased to hear Buonto is facing charges for the crimes she allegedly committed, and she knows the club is ready to move forward.
Buonto is facing six charges of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, felonies that could add up to 45 years in prison total.
Where did the money go?
Buonto is accused of spending money from the Boys & Girls Club on a host of personal expenses, ranging her son’s college tuition to trips to the hair salon.
The six breach-of-trust charges Buonto faces correlate with six overlapping time frames. Here is a breakdown of how Buonto allegedly spent the embezzled funds, according to the indictment filings.
From December 2014 to December 2019:
- More than $26,000 in bonus checks Buonto allegedly issued to herself without board approval
From February 2018 to March 2019:
- $6,000 to cover personal moving expenses and rental deposits on two different occasions
Between March 2018 and January 2020:
- More than $27,000 to cover 16 personal trips. The money allegedly covered costs for airfare, car rentals, lodging, meals and other personal expenses for her daughter, her son, a male acquaintance, and the man’s mother.
Between April 2018 and March 2019:
- $13,473 for Buonto’s son’s tuition at the College of Charleston
From June 2018 to December 2019:
- $1,700 at Blush Beauty Bar, a hair salon in Myrtle Beach
- $4,000 at Knotting Hill Interiors and Boutique, an interior design studio in Myrtle Beach
- $400 at Revel6 Hair Bar, a hair salon in Myrtle Beach
- $1,800 in medical expenses for Buonto’s son
- She is accused of depositing, into her personal bank account, a $556 medical refund check and a $500 donation check made out to the Boys & Girls Club of the Grand Strand.
Between April and October 2019:
- $3,778 toward her son’s tuition at Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics
- $2,954 toward her son’s student loans
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 5:04 PM.
