Magistrate will return to work

By Cindy Landrum  

FEBRUARY 9, 2010 11:07 a.m. (0)

Greenville County Magistrate James Hudson will be allowed to return to the bench.

Hudson was suspended in September after he requested an investigation into discrepancies in his office’s civil and criminal fine accounts.

A clerk in his office, Freddie Jean Johnson, was arrested and charged with embezzlement of public funds and forgery. She is accused of taking more than $7,000 in fines over a three year period.

An audit revealed missing cash deposits and investigators found evidence Johnson replaced the funds using her personal bank account, according to arrest warrants.

Hudson was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the missing money.

On Monday, the state Supreme Court sanctioned Hudson for his failure to oversee his office’s financial records.

The court imposed a 90-day suspension retroactive to Sept. 11, according to the order.

Hudson told the court he thought the accounts were being properly reconciled because he was never contacted by the treasurer’s office or the county finance office about the reports, according to the order.

Hudson told the court he asked for the investigation after he learned on a number of occasions the deposit slip totals and daily deposit totals did not match, cash was removed from deposits and replaced with checks, checks were not always included on the daily deposit slip and money and checks were not always properly deposited.

Hudson told the court he realizes if he had taken a more proactive approach in reviewing documentation, he might have noticed the discrepancies sooner, the order said.

Hudson told the court he will be more involved in overseeing his office’s financial record-keeping, the order said.

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