Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney W. WALTER WILKINS stated today that Edna Capers Johnson Williams, age 58, of Allendale, South Carolina, pled guilty today in federal court to embezzling approximately $180,000.00 from the town of Allendale Waterworks and Sewer System.    United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour accepted the plea and will sentence Williams at a later date.

Evidence established that from 2002 through July 2005, Williams stole cash paid by Waterworks customers for water, sewer, and trash collection, and then manipulated the records of the utility to conceal her actions.  The thefts were discovered when a coworker noticed an entry in a daily summary of activity that indicated that $1,000 had been paid out in exchange for a check.  This person knew that no such transaction had occurred, and she checked records more closely to resolve this discrepancy.  Ultimately, the $1,000 entry was determined to be the result of a keying error.  In the process of finding the error, however, the coworker discovered other entries for commercial accounts that had been altered by Williams.  The alterations involved creating a false credit to the commercial account.  The credit would reduce the final tally for the amount received that day as reflected on the daily summary.  Williams then stole cash equal to the amount of credits she had created.  The investigating agents conducted a detailed examination of utility records and determined that Williams stole approximately $180,000 between 2002 and July 2005, when the thefts were discovered.

Mr. Wilkins stated the maximum penalty Williams can receive is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for 5 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the Columbia office handled the case.