SPARTANBURG — Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright used his publicly funded credit card to buy himself cigarettes, an iPad and antidiarrheal medication, among hundreds of other items.
The State Ethics Commission on Oct. 1 released its notice of hearing, which details 63 charges against Wright for using his credit card on personal expenses, including diet supplements, phone games and apps, ammunition, range time, pizza and fast food.
By doing so, the commission says, Wright repeatedly broke a state ethics law that prevents public officials from using their position to obtain an economic benefit for themselves.
The Ethics Commission investigation was launched after former Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputy Nick Duncan filed an ethics complaint against Wright based on The Post and Courier’s reporting last year on Wright’s credit card spending. Most of the purchases listed in the document were first reported by The Post and Courier.
Wright has also agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for stealing money from the sheriff’s office benevolence fund to pay for illegal opioid pills, taking pills for himself under the guise of a drug takeback program and keeping L.B. Watson on the sheriff’s office payroll without any job duties. Watson’s salary was more than $50,000 last year.
The charges point to 130 packs of cigarettes that Wright bought between QT and Dollar General, as well as more than $1,300 he spent at the Apple App Store from November 2020 through September 2024.
Those phone purchases included the games Royal Match, 8 Ball Pool and Ramp Car Jumping, the hunting app Huntwise, guitar lessons, ESPN+ and iCloud storage.
At Academy Sports and Outdoors, Wright bought cordage, backpacks and a trail camera totaling $236.61. He also spent $99 on a cellular trail camera subscription from Skypoint, the records say.
At Best Buy, Wright bought an iPad, drinks, a cell phone mount and made a charitable donation, totaling $946.20, according to the ethics records.
He spent more than $1,000 at C & C Ammo, buying ammunition, hearing protection, range time and weapons accessories.
Those are just a sampling of the public funds the commission says Wright spent on himself. Most of Wright’s personal purchases were at fast food joints, restaurants and convenience stores.
See the rest of the purchases below:
