South Carolina State Former Counsel Pleads Guilty in Connection with Kickback Scheme

Contact Person: Nancy Wicker (803) 929-3000

Charleston, South Carolina ----- The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Edwin Donald Givens, age 50, of Columbia, South Carolina, pled guilty to an Information (copy attached) charging him with misprision of a felony in connection with a kickback scheme related to the 2011 South Carolina State University homecoming concert, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 4.

United States District Judge David C. Norton of Charleston accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. 

Evidence presented at the plea hearing established that GIVENS had actual  knowledge of the commission of a federal felony offense involving the solicitation, receipt and payment of kickbacks by others involved with the concert, and that he failed to disclose such knowledge and took affirmative steps to conceal such information from federal law enforcement agents investigating the scheme, both prior to and during a November 14, 2011, interview with agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The maximum penalty GIVENS can receive is three (3) years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, plus a special assessment of $100.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS-CI).  This case and its companion cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy C. Wicker, Jane B. Taylor, DeWayne Pearson and J.D. Rowell.

PDF - Givens Information