04-04-2025
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.
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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.
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