CHARLESTON, S.C. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Four more defendants charged in a North Charleston public corruption scheme have been sentenced. 

  • Jerome Sydney Heyward, 63, a former North Charleston City Councilmember, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for extortion, bribery, and money laundering.  
  • Mike A. Brown, 47, former North Charleston City Council Member, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for accepting a bribe from Aaron Hicks in exchange for his support of a rezoning application.
  • Michelle Stent-Hilton, 58, of North Charleston, and Donavan Laval Moten, 48, founder of Core4Success Foundation, were each sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for paying Heyward $20,000 kickbacks in exchange for his support of their applications for grant funds.

“These defendants, who broke the public trust, have been held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “Thank you to our law enforcement partners at the FBI and SLED for thoroughly investigating these instances of public corruption.”

“Public corruption undermines the trust that citizens place in people with power and tarnishes the goodwill of those who use their positions to act in good faith,” said FBI Columbia Special Agent in Charge Kevin Moore. “The FBI and our partners are committed to rooting out public corruption and bringing accountability to the bodies of government and organizations meant to serve the people.”

“Pay to play politics is an egregious abuse of the public’s trust,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel. “Elected officials should be serving the community – not lining their own pockets. SLED is proud to work together with our state and federal partners to bring those who unlawfully profit off their positions to justice.”

Heyward was charged in three separate schemes with corruptly using his position as a North Charleston City Councilman to personally enrich himself through bribes, kickbacks, and extortion and to deprive the citizens and the government of North Charleston of their intangible right to the honest services of the North Charleston City Council. In the first scheme, Heyward extorted a businessman by soliciting payments in exchange for his official action as a City Councilman. In the second scheme, Heyward conspired with Mike A. Brown and Aaron Hicks to solicit and accept bribes from Aaron Hicks—working on behalf of a company with business before North Charleston City Council—in exchange for his support of the rezoning of the Baker Hospital site. In the third scheme, Heyward conspired with Donavan Moten and Michelle Stent-Hilton to embezzle taxpayer funds from North Charleston. Heyward agreed to support Moten and Stent-Hilton’s applications, submitted on behalf of their non-profits, for violence reduction grants. In exchange, Moten and Stent-Hilton each agreed to pay Heyward $20,000.  Thereafter, Heyward conspired with Rose Lorenzo to launder the funds to conceal the nature and source of the kickbacks.

Previously, co-defendants Aaron Charles-Lee Hicks and Hason Fields were sentenced. Rose Lorenzo pleaded guilty for her role in the conspiracy, and her sentencing will be scheduled at a future date.  

United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Heyward to 72 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system. He was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. 

This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Whit Sowards and Emily Limehouse prosecuted the case.

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