A former Lexington County court employee pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling neary $37,000 in family court filing fees for personal use, according to a statement from S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Ana Marin, 41, of Lexington, entered a guilty plea to embezzlement of public funds before Judge Michael Nettles.
Officials say Marin embezzled approximately $36,620 in cash from January 2013 to May 2015 while working as a clerical assistant with the Lexington County Clerk of Court's Office, where she was responsible for collecting filing fees due to the family court.
Authorities say an audit, conducted after a discrepancy was found in Marin's collections in May 2015, concluded that several thousand dollars were unaccounted for. It also found numerous cases were missing a receipt for the filing fee, but were otherwise opened and assigned a number. Wilson says Marin admitted to depositing some $36,620 in cash in filing fees into her personal checking account.
After serving 90 weekend days in prison, Marin will be on probation for five years, according to the statement from Wilson. Marin was also ordered to pay $36,620 in restitution. If Marin is able to pay the restitution before her probationary period is over, then probation will be terminated, according to Wilson.