Thornblade Club, Greer’s premier country club, is in the midst of a scoundrel investigation similar to the misuse of funds, according to police and the club’s interim manager.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office showed Greenville News Monday that agents were investigating “potential abuse of trust” there.
The club includes a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and luxury homes, and hosts the annual BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament.
The club’s interim general manager, Steve Munch, conducted the research on the club’s website.
Lieutenant Ryan Flood, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the alleged violation of acceptance as true was the only possible criminal activity known to be similar to the investigation.
In his written statement, Munch stated that a former club worker received an American Express card, resulting in an unauthorized payment of $110,000. The sheriff’s workplace contacted in May to investigate and the club is concerned about the investigation, Munch said.
When he contacted by phone Monday, Munch said American Express’s expenses were partly to blame for the club’s operating losses in the last fiscal year, and said the club’s finances had been the subject of in-depth discussions among members.
“Obviously there were monetary irregularities. All of this has been communicated in a very transparent way to the members,” Munch said.
Munch refused to talk about the main points of the former worker who allegedly abused the club’s funds.
“This worker referred to has been hired through the club for some time,” Munch said.
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Daniel J. Gross is a surveillance research journalist who focuses on public protection and law enforcement for The Greenville News. Contact him on [email protected] or Twitter @danieljgross.