ROCK HILL, SC. (CN2 NEWS) – The York County Sheriff’s Office and 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett released a joint statement Thursday evening saying the sheriff’s office opened an investigation into the use of public money by Carolina Panthers owner, David Tepper and GT Real Estate Holdings which was created to build the headquarters in Rock Hill. The project failed earlier this year.
SLED confirmed this as a criminal investigation.
State from SLED:
SLED opened an investigation on November 7, 2022 into the transfer of public funds from York County to GTRE and/or its affiliates to include David Tepper, Appaloosa Management, Tepper Sports Holding and DT Sports Holding.
SLED was requested to investigate by York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson, York County Solicitor Kevin Brackett and Attorney General Alan Wilson.
This joint investigation with the York County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing, as such, no additional information is available at this time.
Below is the official release from York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson and 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett.
“An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the transfer to, and subsequent use of public money by the Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and GTRE, the company created to oversee the construction of the Panthers training facility, was initiated by the York County Sheriff to determine whether any laws were violated during that process. The Attorney General, Solicitor Kevin Brackett’s Office and the State Law Enforcement Division have partnered with us to provide additional resources and assistance and we will work together to ensure that all relevant information is gathered so that a fair and just outcome can be reached.
An investigation is simply an inquiry and should not create any inference that wrongdoing has been committed by any party.
This office will have no further comment on the matter at this time.”
GT REAL ESTATE STATEMENT:
“It would be unfortunate if the recently announced settlement between GTRE and York County were somehow undermined by politically motivated leaks. The timing of these leaks is all the more curious in light of this settlement.
This is a straightforward commercial matter that is being fully resolved. The underlying disputes arise under contracts that were jointly negotiated by the parties and are publicly available. The funds paid by the County were handled consistent with the terms of those contracts.
The settlement fully compensates York County and settles all its claims related to GTRE’s bankruptcy case. To this end, $21.165 million has been escrowed for months to reimburse the County with interest.”
CN2 News spoke by phone with Bankruptcy attorney and former South Carolina Representative, Mandy Powers Norrell who was in Columbia when the Panthers deal went into place.
She weighs in on this new investigation.
