Hopkins man sentenced to prison for embezzlement

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former South Carolina bank official has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from the institution.

U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles says 40-year-old Torlando Ramont Childress of Hopkins was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Columbia. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie also ordered Childress to repay more than $377,000 to the bank and its insurance carrier.

Prosecutors said Childress was the chief financial officer of South Carolina Community Bank and had the ability to make transfers into and out of all of the bank’s accounts. Authorities said Childress used two accounts to embezzle $377,000 between 2006 and 2010.

Childress pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a bank employee in July. He had faced up to 30 years in prison and $1,000,000 in fines.