A former golf club employee charging $110,000 on an unauthorized credit card. That’s the allegation interim General Manager Steve Munch said Thornblade Club has asked the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office to help investigate.
“It is alleged that a former employee obtained an American Express card resulting in unauthorized charges of $110,000,” the statement read. “We contacted the Greenville County Sheriff's Department in May and asked them to conduct a criminal investigation. We are assisting in that investigation along with legal counsel.”
Lt. Ryan Flood of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that they are currently investigating a “potential breach of trust”, but that is all that has been confirmed at the time this article’s publication.
This event comes after the golf club has held several meetings informing members of the club’s financial situation so they could vote on an assessment to cover the operating loss of the last fiscal year, which ended in March.
More details as they become available. You can read the interim general manager’s full statement below:
Earlier this morning the board and management of Thornblade was made aware of a story posted on a news site in Columbia, SC, which has made a combination of charges and innuendo related to activities regarding the Club. This story was written without any contact or comment by the news site to the board or management at the Club. The board has made every effort to inform the membership of the Club’s current financial situation and the steps being taken to address those. It has been our goal from day one to be completely transparent. Despite the suggestions made by this story, the facts remain the same:
1. The Club is asking Members to vote on an assessment to cover an operating loss in our fiscal year ending March 31. We have held seven meetings over the past month to fully inform our Members of the financial situation. Other than one issue (unauthorized American Express usage) there does not appear to be any criminal activity involved. Thornblade will conduct a forensic audit if there is any indiciation otherwise.
2. It is alleged that a former employee obtained an American Express card resulting in unauthorized charges of $110,000. We contacted the Greenville County Sheriff's Department in May and asked them to conduct a criminal investigation. We are assisting in that investigation along with legal counsel.
As you may be aware, there were additional allegations made in this story. We have no knowledge of the issue and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment.