Horry County solicitor says he has no knowledge of luxury items mentioned in procurement lawsuit
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The Horry County solicitor on Friday addressed lawsuit allegations about misuse of government spending cards by county employees, including claims that they were used to buy golf clubs, TVs and other items that appeared to have been shipped to private residences.
Two former Horry County procurement officials fired last June were in the midst of a 'broad, sweeping investigation' into the potential misuse of the purchasing cards by judicial branch employees, state and federal lawsuits allege.
Lauren DeMasi, who worked as procurement specialist for the county, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Florence on March 31, naming the county, Assistant Human Resoures Director Katie Badgett, employee Tara Chestnut-Smith, Director of Airports Judi Olmstead, Procurement Director Tammy Stevens, Administrator Barry Spivey and employee April Kelly.
Jessica Williams, who worked as the deputy director of the procurement department, followed with a lawsuit in Horry County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. It named the county, Chestnut-Smith and Kelly. Both complaints also accuse officials of violating the state's whistleblower act, wrongful termination and defamation, among other things.
DeMasi's lawsuit says she made a troubling discovery last summer while reviewing an employee expense spreadsheet: Many purchases made by the county's magistrate and solicitor's offices had delivery addresses not tied to public property and were instead sent to private residences.
'(DeMasi) realized during this process that it appeared that Horry County procurement funds were being impermissibly used to direct goods such as golf equipment, large-screen televisions and other luxury items to the homes of Horry County employees,' her lawsuit says.
Solicitor Jimmy Richardson addressed that allegation in a lengthy email statement on Friday, in which he said it was an effort to be 'transparent.' Because 'the complaint could have been better drafted, I wanted to provide this individualized accounting.'
'I know nothing about items such as golf clubs or televisions; however, I was asked about 17 specific boxes that were sent to an employee's address in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years,' Richardson said. 'All of these items were delivered to a home address because delivery was scheduled when the office was closed (weekends or after hours). Also, that office where delivery is usually made is not located in the courthouse and there is no secured mailroom.'
Richardson explained what was in each of the 17 boxes — saying they all contained items used exclusively for work purposes.
He said five of the boxes were textbooks for domestic violence defendants and treatment court clients. Another box, according to Richardson, contained textbooks called 'Responsible Decisions' and 'My Personal Journey.'
'Boxes seven and eight were full of graduation tassels and robes and were used for treatment court graduations,' he said. 'Box nine was full of diplomas for treatment court graduates.'
The eight other boxes had items like crowd control barriers, magnets and decorations with inspirational quotes for treatment court, urine testing strips for drug tests, office furniture, urine collection cups, air purifiers and two Ring doorbells, Richardson said.
'None of these items are luxury items,' he said. 'All of these items are work items. All of these items are currently at treatment court and were brought to treatment court within 48 hours of delivery. All receipts have been kept and provided to the county auditors and public safety director and the procurement director.'
Richardson said he will not comment further about the allegations.
* * *
Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Adani Plans Airport Unit IPO by 2027, Hastens $100 Billion Capex
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group is gearing up to list its airports unit by 2027, as part of an ambitious growth plan that entails investing $100 billion across businesses over the next few years. Adani Airport Holdings Ltd., India's largest private-sector airport operator, will likely be spun off and listed by March 2027, according to Adani Group executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the details aren't public. Currently owned by the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd., the firm operates eight Indian airports and will be opening a new terminal on the outskirts of Mumbai in a few months time.
14 hours ago
Jury awards more than $500,000 to Guatemalan men who said they were exploited on Michigan farms
DETROIT -- A jury has awarded more than $500,000 to five men from Guatemala who said they were exploited and underpaid by a labor contractor that brought them to Michigan to plant and harvest fruit and vegetables. Much of the verdict last week — $450,000 — was in the form of punitive damages against Purpose Point Harvesting for violating an antitrafficking law. Interpreters translated Spanish to English as the five men testified in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. They recalled three seasons as laborers who handled asparagus, apples, cherries and other crops in Oceana and Newaygo counties, from 2017-19. They sometimes worked 100 hours a week but never got paid for more than 60, wore headlights to pick asparagus after midnight and slept on couches, attorney Teresa Hendricks said Wednesday. 'They were told if they didn't like it, it was better than what they could earn in Guatemala,' she said. 'They're some of the bravest men I know,' Hendricks added. 'They had to come to this country to stand up for their values and speak the truth in a strange courtroom, in a town they're not familiar with, in front of a jury and lay it out bare.' An attorney for Purpose Point said other workers contradicted the claims. 'Ultimately the jury makes a decision based on the facts they're allowed to see. We still deny the allegations and look forward to the appeals,' Robert Alvarez said. The men entered the U.S. under a federal program, known as H-2A, that allows farms to use foreign labor if they can't find domestic workers. Purpose Point serves as a middleman, recruiting people to fill jobs at Michigan farms and handling payroll. The head of the company is a native of the Malacatán area in Guatemala, the workers' same home region, Hendricks said. She said it's difficult to find foreign farmworkers who are willing to speak up about wages and working conditions. Hendricks recalled meeting one of the men in a cornfield late at night. 'The retaliation of being deported early, losing their jobs and visas — those were all real fears,' she said.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iowa egg supplier denies allegations of human trafficking, harassment
An Iowa industrial egg supplier is denying allegations that it engaged in human trafficking or threatened immigrant workers with deportation in retaliation for their complaints. In March, attorneys for six Guatemalan citizens sued Iowa's Centrum Valley Farms and company manager Jose Cornejo in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The plaintiffs, all of whom lived in Belmond, Eagle Grove, Clarion or Webster City while working for Centrum Valley Farms, seeks unspecified damages for harassment, discrimination and retaliation; wrongful discharge; human trafficking related to forced labor; violations of wage-and-hour laws related to overtime pay; and violations of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. The plaintiffs — Kenny Augusto Tetzaguic Lux, Gerver Noel Marroquin Argueta, Isaias Tevalan Lopez, Consuelo Esperanza Lux Tepaz, Cecilia Angelica Bernal Cobo and Juan Carlos Tetzaguic Lux – claim Centrum Valley Farms recruited them to work at the company's Clarion egg farm and packaging facility and helped them obtain work-authorization documents from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with Cornejo acting as their supervisor. On a daily basis, Cornejo, who is Mexican, made 'repeated unwelcome comments disparaging the plaintiffs for their Guatemalan national origin,' the lawsuit claims. Cornejo is accused of telling the plaintiffs all Guatemalans were lazy and that he wanted to replace them with Mexicans or Americans. When the Guatemalans complained about Cornejo to other managers, the lawsuit claims, the harassment allegedly grew worse with Cornejo threatening to have them deported. 'Cornejo even brought a firearm to work, showed it to the plaintiffs, and displayed it in his office to intimidate the plaintiffs and silence their complaints,' the lawsuit claims. Cornejo also is accused of threatening to turn the Guatemalans in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they tried to voluntarily leave their positions at the company. The company eventually terminated the Guatemalans' employment 'in retaliation for their complaints,' the lawsuit adds. On Jan. 25, 2023, Cornejo allegedly brought a firearm to his office and displayed it on his desk to intimidate Lux and the other Guatemalans, according to the lawsuit. One of the other plaintiffs alleges Cornejo referred to him as his 'faithful dog,' his 'slave' and as his 'Guatemalan wetback,' while making him apply pesticides in chicken houses without the necessary protective equipment. In response to the lawsuit, Centrum Valley Farms has denied any wrongdoing and claimed more than a dozen affirmative defenses. For example, the company alleges the plaintiffs failed to take advantage of corrective or preventative opportunities to avoid any harm, and that the Guatemalans' claims of harassment are barred because the workers cannot show that any such conduct was so severe or pervasive that it affected their employment. To the extent that any discriminatory or retaliatory conduct was committed by an employee of Centrum Valley Farms, the company states, the conduct fell outside the scope of the employee's authority and was contrary to Centrum Valley Farm's 'good-faith efforts to comply with state and federal law.' A trial date has yet to be scheduled. Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@ This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Centrum Valley Farms in Iowa denies allegations of human trafficking
