Former Horry County detention officer guilty of tax fraud. How much she has to pay
A former Horry County detention center officer will now spend time in jail after pleading guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns.
Taimar Lerechonde Thomas, a Conway resident, pled guilty to one count of preparing a false or fraudulent return and one count of tax evasion, the South Carolina Department of Revenue announced Tuesday. She will now spend two years in prison, suspended upon five years of probation.
The court also ordered that Thomas repay the state the $15,565 income tax she was charged with evading.
Thomas was arrested by SCDOR agents in June 2025. She was accused of preparing South Carolina Individual Income Tax returns for taxpayers from 2017 to 2023 with fraudulent deductions and business expenses, according to arrest warrants.
Those taxpayers were not aware of the fraudulent deductions and expenses, and did not consent to Thomas filing them, according to SCDOR. The false returns caused the taxpayers to receive refunds over $25,000 higher than they were supposed to be.
The warrants also claimed that Thomas filed South Carolina returns for herself during the same period, also claiming deductions and expenses fraudulently.
