Man faces fundraising fraud charges
Event in Greenwood was billed as benefit for diabetes research
July 29, 2005
From
staff reports
A Greenwood man has been arrested and charged with fraudulent
fundraising.
Dennis Michael Clark, 40, of 107 Appian Way, Greenwood, faces a
charge of misrepresentation during fundraising in relation to a
diabetes research benefit.
Investigators with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office
searched Clark’s home and arrested him in what was the
culmination of a three-month investigation into Clark’s
activities as he organized fundraising events.
Clark organized and conducted an event May 20 at Westview Middle
School in Greenwood that he claimed would benefit diabetes
research. He raised several thousands of dollars in the process.
When people assisting him in the event asked for the money in
order to forward it to the appropriate charities, Clark denied
that such a group existed and claimed to have no records, the
sheriff’s office said.
GCSO’s investigation showed that Clark donated no funds from
the event to any charitable organization.
The investigation began when Greenwood County residents
complained that Clark solicited funds, but asked that checks be
made to him personally.
Clark then took each check directly to the bank, where it was
cashed without an account being set up.
Clark solicited and received cash donations ranging from $75-$150
from about 40 people, the sheriff’s office said. He also
solicited non-cash prize donations for his event from about 50
businesses and individuals, although the sheriff’s office
said it appears most of those prizes were distributed at the
event.
“Crimes like this victimize people in a couple of important
ways: they not only steal money from well-intentioned citizens,
but fraudulent fundraising hinders the efforts of legitimate
organizations,” Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said.
“We can’t let criminals take advantage of Greenwood’s
generosity.”
The S.C. Secretary of State’s Office regulates and oversees
the administration of charitable organizations and fundraising in
the state, and GCSO consulted with investigators from that office’s
investigative arm to confirm that Clark never registered as a
charitable organization or fundraiser.
Clark attempted to skirt the regulations by asking a person
assisting him with the event to register, although that person
never received from Clark the funds, records, or reporting
information required by state law, GCSO said.
“We’re fairly certain that the persons and
organizations involved with Clark’s fundraising scheme were
duped just as the donors were,” Chief Deputy Mike Frederick
said.
After consultation with the 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office
and the Secretary of State’s Office, GCSO decided to charge
Clark with misrepresentation during fundraising, a crime
punishable by a $5,000 fine and up to one year in prison.
Additional charges likely will stem from the solicitation of
donations from individuals.
People who think they were victimized and have not been contacted
by GCSO should call Investigations Division Commander Maj. Jeff
Miller at 943-8039.
“We’re glad that we were able to arrest this guy and
get him back into the system,” Frederick said, “but our
main goal here was to put him out of the fraudulent fundraising
business in Greenwood permanently.”
The sheriff’s office did not seize any money from Clark,
Frederick said, but they did find tax records and receipts, which
are being examined.
As for reparations for victims, Frederick said, “We can’t
take any promises about giving the money back, but we will make
every effort to do so.”
He said the sheriff’s office doesn’t know whether the
money has been spent.
Frederick said residents must exercise caution in regard to
charitable and other financial solicitations in today’s
legal environment.
He advises never to provide personal, descriptive information,
such as Social Security or bank account numbers, to any person
who contacts them without proper identification — and never
over the telephone.
Frederick also said donors should be leery of fundraisers who can’t
specify the recipient of the funds or who ask that checks be made
to them personally.
Clark was given a $10,000 cash or surety bond, which he could not
pay. Clark returned to the Greenwood County Detention Center
Thursday afternoon.
Index-Journal Staff Writer Shavonne Potts and a Greenwood County
Sheriff’s Office media release contributed to this story.
Mary Couch
Mary Davis Couch, 84, of 11 Maddox Bridge Road, widow of William
D. Couch, died Wednesday, July 27, 2005 at her home.
Born in Starr, she was a daughter of the late Richard and Bertie
McCurry Davis. She retired from Riegel Textile Corp., where she
was a member of the Quarter Century Club. She was a member of
Ware Shoals United Methodist Church and the United Methodist
Women.
Survivors include a son, Steve D. Couch of Ware Shoals; three
daughters, Debbie Lake of Ware Shoals, Donna Morrell of Donalds
and Barbara Butler of Hickory Tavern; two brothers, Ralph Gibson
of Lady Lake, Fla., and Bobby Gibson of Spartanburg; a sister,
Sarah Mickey of Baltimore; 10 grandchildren; and four
great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Saturday at Ware Shoals United Methodist
Church, conducted by the Revs. Fred Treaster and Wayne Wicker.
The body will be placed in the church at 10. Burial is in
Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Drew Morrell, John Lake, Zach Lake, B.J. Pulley,
Chuck Couch and Jetter Davis.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Parker-White Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of Debbie and Campbell Lake, 105 S.
Greenwood Ave., Ware Shoals.
Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals, is in charge.
Martha P. Cox
GREENWOOD
— Martha Sarah Powell Cox, 86, of 310 Blyth Road,
widow of Paul Wilson “Shorty” Cox, died Thursday, July
28, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Saluda, she was a daughter of the late Rev. Joseph
Hartwell Powell and Maude Hill Powell. She was retired from Abney
Mills, Grendel Plant and attended the Fountain of Life Worship
Center.
Surviving is a daughter, Mrs. John (Jo) Barrett of Greenwood;
grandchildren, John Paul & Polly Barrett and Timothy &
Angie Barrett; great-grand-children, Phillip Barrett, Joshua
Barrett and Sommer Barrett.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Oakbrook
Memorial Park with the Rev. Dewain G. Willis officiating.
The family will receive friends at Harley Funeral Home on
Saturday from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Jo Barrett, 308 Blyth
Road.
It is respectfully requested that flowers be omitted and
memorials made to the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled
Children, 2104 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29609-3194.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY
Frank Jones
GREENWOOD
— Frank David “Red” Jones, 70, resident
of 404 Hwy 246 N., husband of Peggy Cobb Jones, died July 27,
2005 at his home.
Born in Cherokee Falls, March 10, 1935, he was a son of the late
Charlie C. and Betty Koon Jones. He was a graduate of Blacksburg
High School and was a US Marine Veteran. Mr. Jones retired from
Monsanto after 25 years of service.
A member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church, he was also a
member of the Alice Stuart Sunday School Class and the Long Cane
Hunting Club.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are two daughters,
Mrs. Wade (Michelle) Dicks of Graniteville and Mrs. Drew (Sharon)
Cradic of Johnson City, TN; a son, David Jones, Sr. of Greenwood;
seven grandchildren, David Jones, Jr. and Brandon Jones, both of
the home, Frankie and Stephen Cradic, Allison and Matthew Dicks
and Violet Jones; three step-grandchildren and one
step-great-grandchild; three sisters, Jane Broome of Waterloo,
Lucy Harrison and Betty Mae Bennett, both of Blacksburg.
Funeral services will be conducted at 1:00 Saturday at Bethlehem
United Methodist Church with Rev. Tommy Tucker and Rev. Harvey
Peurifoy officiating.
Entombment will be in Oakbrook Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Pallbearers will be Keith Coker, Tommy Williams, Tim Broome, Mark
Hamm, Mark Bennett, Gayland Garner, Richie Allen, Randy
Brackfield, Glenn McDowell and David Garner.
Honorary escort will be the men of Bethlehem United Methodist
Church along with Ralph Charles, Cecil McDowell, Les During,
Richard Crouch, Joey Hazel and Craig Brooks.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the
church at 12 Noon.
The family is at the home and will receive friends at the funeral
home from 7 to 9 Friday evening.
Memorials may be made to Bethlehem United Methodist Church, 122
Fuller Street, Greenwood, SC 29649 or to Hospice Care of the
Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For additional information please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
BLYTH FUNERAL HOME IS ASSISTING THE JONES FAMILY
PAID OBITUARY
Thurmond Dwayne Lanier
COLUMBIA — Thurmond Dwayne Lanier, 53, died Tuesday, July
26, 2005 at Palmetto-Richland Hospital.
Born in Edgefield County, he was a son of Anna Bell Lanier and
the late Wade Lanier. He was a member of Liberty Spring Baptist
Church, Edgefield. A 1970 graduate of Greenwood High School, he
received a bachelor of arts degree in history from Lander College
in 1974, a master’s degree of education from S.C. State
University in 1987 and completed course work towards a doctoral
degree at S.C. State University. He was a former teacher in
Greenwood and a former assistant principal at McCormick High
School and Wade Hampton High School.
Survivors include his mother of Troy; a son, Thurmond D. Lanier
Jr. of Columbia; a daughter, Angela Lanier of Rock Hill; two
brothers, Kenneth Lanier of Greenwood and Alfonso Lanier of Troy;
three sisters, Miriam Mack of Warner Robins, Ga., Doris Nelson of
Greenwood and Luephila Gilchrist of McCormick.
Services are 1 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Spring Baptist Church,
Edgefield, conducted by the Rev. James Reynolds, assisted by the
Revs. Roderick Cummings and Ronnie Williams. The body will be
placed in the church at 12. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Reginald Lanier, Vance Mack, Darrell Nelson,
Ricky Hill, Andre Lanier and Jamie Lanier.
Flower bearers are nieces and friends.
The family is at the home of his mother, Anna Bell Lanier, 9805
Highway 25 S., Troy.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home, Saluda, is in charge.
Post 20 stays alive, routs Florence 9-2
Miller throws complete game; team plays Conway today
July 29, 2005
By
RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer
The Greenwood American Legion Post 20 baseball team very
nearly came up with the ultimate upset in the state championship
tournament opener.
Post 20 gladly settled for a mild upset Thursday night to keep
its season alive for at least one more night.
Behind a strong complete-game pitching performance from Brandon
Miller and solid offensive effort, Post 20 ended Florence Post 1’s
season with a 9-2 win at Legion Field in a loser’s bracket
game.
Miller picked up his third victory in his first legion season.
The Emerald High School junior struck out three while walking
three and scattering 10 Florence hits.
“I wanted to go nine (innings) in this one. It was a big
game, an elimination game, and I wanted to go the distance,”
Miller said. “I knew there was a little bit of pressure, but
I knew if I threw my game, I would be fine.”
Greenwood advances to another elimination game at 4 p.m. today
against Conway, which suffered a 7-5 loss to Gaffney Thursday.
The Post 20 batters, especially the bottom of the lineup,
provided a lift for Miller. The bottom five might have only
combined to go 3-for-18 against Florence pitching. But those five
batters, led by Miller’s high school teammate Wade Scott,
accounted for seven of the team’s runs, along with six of
the 10 free passes.
“Brandon was pitching really well and I think everybody
noticed that and I think that kept everybody calm,” said
Scott, who was 2-for-5 with two runs. “This is big. It’s
our tournament and we want to do the best we can. These are good
teams and it means something when you beat a team like that.
“We didn’t just want to participate. We wanted to win,
and after the way we played last night (Wednesday), everybody
wanted to come out and have a good game.”
Scott got things going for Post 20 by leading off the second with
a single near the right-field line. After stealing second, the
Greenwood catcher came around to score on Justin Jenkins’
grounder that resulted in an error.
But that lead was short lived, as Florence came back and tied the
game in the bottom half of the inning. Post 20 reclaimed the lead
in the fourth, benefiting once again from Florence miscues, along
with some additional help from Florence starter Phillip Mozingo.
Designated hitter Lamar Dukes smacked a grounder to short to
start the inning. Florence’s Barrett Kleinknecht threw it
away, allowing Dukes to take second.
With the count full on Jenkins, Dukes took off for third on
Mozingo’s pitch. The pitch was a ball, sending Jenkins to
first, and catcher Austin Smetana’s throw to third ended up
in left field, allowing Dukes to score the go-ahead run.
With one out, Jenkins on third and Justin Lovvorn on first,
Milton Brown picked up the team’s only hit of the inning
with a single to bring in Jenkins.
Mozingo issued his sixth walk in two innings by pitching four
straight balls to Kyle Behrendt, loading the bases.
That was the end of night for Mozingo, as Bryce Holmes came in
relief.
Will Gary knocked Holmes’ second pitch toward Brandon Hardee
at second. Hardee tossed to Kleinknecht to start the double play,
but Gary beat out the throw to first, allowing Lovvorn’s run
to stand up and make it 4-1.
Post 20 struck again in the next inning. Scott led off the fifth
by blasting a 1-1 pitch from Holmes deep into the gap in
right-center for a triple.
Holmes then hit Dukes and walked Jenkins to load the bases with
no outs. Justin Collier followed with a single past a drawn-in
infield, scoring Scott.
Two more Post 20 runners scored before the end of the inning, one
when Brown was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and the other
on a single from Behrendt to give Post 20 and Miller a 7-1 lead.
With his offense providing some runs, Miller had a stranglehold
on the Florence batters. The southpaw retired nine of ten
Florence batters from the third through the sixth.
The lone base runner, Brandon Hardee, reached on one of Miller’s
three walks. But he didn’t get any farther, as Behrendt
fielded Bryan Wilson’s grounder and started the
inning-ending double play, tossing to Brown, who threw to Jenkins
to get Wilson.
Smetana picked up Florence’s first base hit since the third
inning with his one-out double in the eighth. But he was left
stranded on second, as Miller sent the next two batters down in
order to end the inning.
Greenwood tacked on two more runs in the eighth. Behrendt knocked
in Brown with a triple to left-center and later scored on Clint
Burden’s single to make it 9-1.
Florence touched up Miller for one more run in the bottom of the
inning. With one on and one out, Bryant Smith drilled a shot into
left-center that two-hopped to the fence, scoring Kleinknecht to
make it 9-2.
Help Meals on Wheels help others in a couple of ways
July 29, 2005
The
heat doesn’t surprise anyone in South Carolina. It’s
expected this time of year. Our geography mandates a warm and
sometimes hot climate.
Once in a while, though, like in recent days, the heat factor is
more. It alters lifestyles. It threatens the health of many
people and for some, it’s even life-threatening.
With the heat index being considerably higher and the humidity
turning us into walking advertisements for air conditioning, it’s
judicious to take precautions.
There are many people in all communities, though, for a variety
of reasons – age, health, economics, etc. – who are not
able to look out for themselves. They need someone to look in on
them occasionally to make sure all is well.
SOME HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS and friends, to be
sure, who lend a Good Samaritan hand. Still, there are some,
because of advanced age, infirmities, location and other
conditions who have no one. What about them?
One organization, Meals on Wheels , operated by the Piedmont
Agency on Aging, does double duty. Volunteers deliver meals to
many who are shut-ins or are limited by a variety of influences.
While doing that, they, naturally, keep tabs on how their clients
are faring in the heat and provide assistance. Those volunteers’
contributions to the welfare of friends and neighbors cannot be
overemphasized. What they mean is priceless.
Two things are always needed by Meals on Wheels. They are
financial support and volunteers to do the delivering.
THE PIEDMONT AGENCY ON Aging program is
supported by individuals and businesses in the community. More is
always needed, of course, and it goes without saying it is
welcomed. Needs are ever-present.
We all can help. We can be a positive factor in many lives with a
dollar or a hand. We can help make these hot times a little
better for a lot of people. People helping people makes a big
difference in any community. When the heat is on, though, it’s
needed more than ever. There may be someone out there who is
alone and feels forgotten. The absence of hope is worse than the
heat. But, by helping to address one, we automatically have a
positive influence on the other.
Anyone who wants to volunteer can call 223-2233.
Lest we forget, there’s another need. That’s animals.
They suffer from the heat, too. A little care will help them
live.