‘This is very bad.’ Beaufort woman who posted positive messages falls under suspicion

It's a cautionary story.

That's what a spokesperson for the South Carolina Secretary of State's Office says about a Beaufort woman who is under suspicion of collecting money for good causes and not delivering.

Shannon A. Wiley, general counsel and a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office, said the office fined Cindy Lamprecht $2,000 May 31 for failing to register as a charity, which is required by law if funds are solicited.

The office had received a complaint May 2 that the business was not registered to solicit.

But in a story first reported in the Island News June 3, some residents are now questioning what Lambrecht did with their donations.

While emphasizing that nothing has been proven, Wiley said, "This is very bad, the level of fraud, just based on what's been reported."

In March of 2020, during the doldrums of the COVID-19 epidemic, Cindy Lamprecht and her husband, Tom, gained public prominence after they primed and painted a 6-foot by 8-foot piece of plywood and mounted it in the yard of their rental house on Parris Island Gateway.

It became known as the Beaufort Chalkboard. Passing motorists on the busy road were greeted with inspirational messages such as, "Thank You First Responders," "Happiness is an inside job! #SCSTRONG" and "Happy Easter. HE IS Risen #SCSTRONG."

Then, taking advantage of Beaufort Chalkboard's popularity on social media sites she created, Lamprecht allegedly asked people to donate goods or money to good causes.

In light of the questions that have been raised about Cindy Lamprecht, Wiley said, the office is in the information gathering stage of whether to pursue an investigation to find out more about any charitable funds that she may have solicited.

The office does not have the authority to pursue criminal charges but could pursue civil action to recover the funds.

An investigation would require issuing subpoenas to any known banks or online payment systems she may have used such as PayPal. It may be a difficult case to pursue, she added, because it that Lamprecht has disappeared, Wiley said.

Tom Lamprecht told the Island News that he had no idea about his wife's activities and that she "was in the wind," meaning she had left.

Still, "I’m sure it will move forward," Wiley said of the investigation.

Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet that, as of Tuesday morning, no complaints had been filed with the office.

"If people feel like they have been defrauded, they need to file a complaint," Viens said.

Viens confirmed that Tom Lamprecht sought the protections of a "domestic escort" on Friday in which he asked deputies to stand by as he asked his wife to leave the house.

The Secretary of State's Office oversees some 16,000 charities. Most complaints or cases it looks into involve delinquent registration or failing to file financial reports, making the Beaufort Chalkboard case unusual, Wiley said.

And it looks as if the organization had been active for a couple of years without being registered as a charitable organization, Wiley added.

The case is a lesson for residents to check with the Secretary of State's Office before they make donations to make sure they are registered, Wiley said.

She noted that the agency just came out with a new phone app called Give Smart SC.

One questionable solicitation that the newspaper cited was a claim by Lamprecht that she collected nearly $1,500 in monetary donations for the purchase of baby formula that allegedly was not delivered.

The story also said Lamprecht solicited donations on social media for Sandy Smith of Hampton, S.C., to aid in the exhumation of her son Stephen Smith's body. In 2015, Smith's body was found in the middle of a rural road in Hampton County. Smith was a classmate of Buster Murdaugh, the sole surviving son of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh.

Smith's death was ruled a hit-and-run, but his family has called for the body to be exhumed and for a new autopsy to be performed. Buster Murdaugh has denied being involved in the death of a teenager.

Questions arose after the Lamprechts were profiled in Beaufort Lifestyle magazine in May. In a June 3 Facebook post, the magazine said it was "duped" "like everyone else in the community."

"Ultimately, the silver lining is that our story served as the impetus to expose CJ Lamprecht," the magazine said on Facebook.