Mom accused of leaving kids alone to go clubbing
A woman has been accused of leaving her 2-year-old son shoeless in a Fort Mill parking lot while she was at a nightclub last weekend.
York County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called around 10 p.m. when the toddler was seen alone in the Palmetto Place Apartments parking lot, WBTV reports. When a couple brought him home, they found the door unlocked and the boy’s 4-month-old sister home alone in her crib.
When authorities contacted Colleen Pellettiere, the 26-year-old mother, she said she was on her way home. More than an hour later, she showed up with a stamp on her hand and wearing only a halter top and black pants — no shoes or jacket.
Pellettiere could not explain why she left the children home alone and was charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of children.
College students target of Social Security scam
The Internal Revenue Service has a warning for broke college students: Someone out there may be looking to make you even more broke.
An IRS spokesman told WIS that 500 college students and Social Security beneficiaries were “duped out of their life savings” and provided their Social Security numbers to scammers.
The scammers’ scheme is an advertisement claiming that students can get a college credit by providing checking and savings account information and their Social Security number.
The scheme has also been aimed at church congregations in Georgia and South Carolina, where those involved develop relationships with pastors and churchgoers and claim that if they disclose their Social Security numbers, they can get a “stimulus credit,” which does not actually exist.
The IRS has recommended not giving your Social Security number to anyone but a tax preparer.
DeMint starting conservative think tank
After resigning from the U.S. Senate to head the Heritage Foundation, former Sen. Jim DeMint is starting a conservative think tank in South Carolina.
DeMint, who represented South Carolina in the Senate for nearly eight years, is investing $300,000 from his campaign account to start the Palmetto Policy Forum. The think tank will push for conservative ideas in South Carolina state government and conduct research.
DeMint will be the founding chairman of the organization, while his former state director, Ellen Weaver, will serve as president and CEO and will assume these roles March 4.
DeMint announced his resignation from the Senate in early December 2012. Later that month, Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Tim Scott, then a member of the House of Representatives from Charleston, to DeMint’s vacated seat. Scott is the first black member of the Senate from South Carolina and the seventh in U.S. history.