Former SC court clerk gets 6 months house arrest

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The former Beaufort County clerk of court will serve six months of house arrest for using federal child support money to pay her husband’s salary while he worked for the Beaufort Drug Court.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Elizabeth Smith will also serve two years of probation after the home confinement is completed. She was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sol Blatt Jr. in Charleston.

Authorities say Elizabeth Smith pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegal conversion of public money.

Prosecutors allege she used child support money for her husband’s salary when the money was intended for paternity tests and child support enforcement, not for judges or other costs.

Last year, a state judge sentenced Smith to five years of probation for embezzling more than $23,000 from public accounts.