Blair Shaffer, Former police chief of the Manning Police Department, appeared in federal court last Thursday in Charleston. Shaffer entered a plea of guilty on two of the five federal charges that were filed against him. These charges were made due to actions by Shaffer between September 2015 and February 2017.
Shaffer entered a plea of Guilty to the first charge, Theft of Federal Funds, which carries a possible maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and three years probation. According to reports, Shaffer stole federal funds of over $5,000 which had come in to the City of Manning through various Federal programs providing grants and assistance between September 12-19, 2015. This violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 666, and carries a penalty of no more than 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, three years of probation and a $100 special assessment fee. The second charge, Money Laundering, was dismissed. It maintained that between September 19 and November 11, 2015, Shaffer conducted and attempted to conduct financial transactions to disguise the source of money brought into the Manning Police Department as a result of the distribution of controlled substances. This violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(a)(3)(B), and it carries a penalty of no more than 20 years in prison, $500,000 in fines, three years of probation and a $100 special assessment fee. The third charge, Structuring, was dismissed. It stated that Shaffer made multiple deposits into various accounts, ranging from $77 to $5,000, to the total of $78,514 in cash.The Grand Jury further charged that Shaffer knew of the reporting requirements and structured the deposits to avoid being reported. Federal law mandates that any financial institution which engages in any currency transaction in excess of $10,000 with a customer must report this transaction to the Department of the Treasury. Structuring carries a penalty of no more than five years in prison, $250,000 in fines, one year of probation and a $100 special assessment fee. The fourth charge, False Statement, was also dismissed. The Grand Jury charged that on or about December 2, 2016, Shaffer told an FBI Special Agent the cash deposited from September 19 through November 11, 2015, was money he received from his brother. The charges stated “The statement and representation was false because, as Shaffer then and there knew, he stole the money from the Manning Police Department.” This violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a) and carries a penalty of no more than five years in prison, $250,000 in fines, one year of probation and a $100 special assessment fee. Shaffer entered a plea of Guilty to the fifth charge, Lying to Federal Agents.The Grand Jury charged that on or about February 3, 2017, Shaffer told an FBI Special Agent that the cash he deposited between September 19 through November 11, 2015, was money he had saved. Shaffer admitted that this was false, as he had in fact stolen the money from the Manning Police Department. This violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a) and carried a penalty of no more than five years in prison, $250,000 in fines, one year of probation and a $100 special assessment fee. Sentencing will be held at a later date not yet scheduled.
