EDA Attorney accuses former executive director of forging document

Nothing’s changed from yesterday – the Warren County Courthouse continues to see a lot of action surrounding the alleged misappropriation of EDA assets. Royal Examiner File Photo/Roger Bianchini

A bombshell dropped on the second day of motions hearings on the freezing of defendant assets in the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority’s civil suit seeking recovery of a minimum total of $17.6 million from nine defendants. At the center of that recovery effort is former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald and two of her real estate companies, among several people and Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s) tied to those people.

That bombshell was an accusation by EDA Attorney Dan Whitten that a defense exhibit presented on McDonald’s behalf indicating EDA Board of Directors approval of a 2016, $2-million dollar transfer to its executive director to enact a land purchase was a forgery.

“I think this is a fraudulent document produced by Ms. McDonald,” Whitten told McDonald attorney Jay McDannell as he was questioned about the defense exhibit. Whitten observed that the board resolution authorizing an apparent wire transfer of funds to McDonald’s control was ostensibly approved and signed in closed session.

Whitten noted that such a binding financial resolution cannot be approved and signed in closed session, as it would constitute a violation of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) standards – “I was there and that did not happen in closed session … I believe this is a fictitious document created by Ms. McDonald,” Whitten told her attorney.

Dan Whitten, right, and Doug Stanley were both present in the WC Courthouse Thursday, May 30 – Whitten as a key witness in the EDA Civil litigation motions hearing; Stanley awaiting his turn with a crowded second floor lobby contingent, including supervisors Dan Murray Tony Carter, Archie Fox, Linda Glavis and Tom Sayre among others called to testify before the Special Grand Jury exploring potential criminality tied to the EDA civil litigation.

The “September 2016 – $2 million purchase” is cited in the civil complaint as one of McDonald’s unauthorized uses of EDA assets for personal gain. The complaint notes a check for $94,595 was drafted to McDonald real estate company DaBoyz LLC at the September 2016 closing with TLC Settlements.

Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. overruled plaintiff counsel Cullen Seltzer’s objection to the document’s introduction as an exhibit following Whitten’s assertion of his skepticism about its validity.

“There are a lot of people on here who are alive to say whether it is real,” Athey observed of the signature list.

Following that ruling Seltzer asked the court to direct McDonald’s counsel to cite “exactly where” the document came from. After an initial hesitancy telling the judge he did not know the precise origin of the document, McDannell told the court “from my client – she gave me a pile of documents and it was in there with them.”

Whitten’s stunning assertion of a forged document introduced by defense counsel led to a flurry of activity during a subsequent recess, leading to a recalling of former EDA Board Chairman and Vice Chairman Greg Drescher and the contacting of other surviving members of the EDA Board of Directors whose signatures are on the resolution. Those members include current Vice-Chairman Bruce Drummond, former Treasurer William “Billy” Biggs and former members Ron Llewellyn and William Sealock, the latter now Front Royal’s vice mayor. Two other members whose names are on the document, then Chairman Patty Wines and Jim Eastham are deceased.

Plaintiff counsel said it would attempt to contact those surviving members during an adjournment in the hearing. Following that adjournment Seltzer told the court he had contacted the EDA members in question but they would only be able to testify that afternoon through a phoned-in connection to the courtroom.

At the closing of the day’s hearing shortly before 5 p.m. Judge Athey instructed plaintiff co-counsel Seltzer and Lee Byrd to produce Drummond, Llewellyn, Sealock and Biggs for testimony on the document at 9 a.m. Friday morning. Told Biggs had expressed concerns about appearing due to the problems walking he cited in resigning from the EDA board last year, as well as memory issues from a stroke suffered several years ago, Athey said he would work to accommodate Biggs’ condition and minimize the time he needed to spend at the courthouse Friday in urging the attorneys to try and convince him to appear.

From left, Ron Llewellyn, Greg Drescher and Jennifer McDonald at 2017 EDA board meeting. Drescher testified that prior to the launch of the September 2018 EDA audit the EDA board “had complete trust on information brought on a day-to-day basis” by their executive director. Llewellyn will testify on his degree of trust, among other things, Friday.

However Drescher was already on the witness list and was back in short order to testify as to his knowledge of the document. Athey ruled that plaintiff counsel could not discuss the disputed document with Drescher prior to his testimony.

After covering several other topics, McDonald’s counsel arrived at the Closed Session Resolution authorizing the $2-million transfer.

Like Whitten, Drescher said the document was the familiar EDA Resolution document.

“It looks like your signature,” McDannell observed.

“It does,” Drescher replied.

“Does that look like the way your write dates?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any reason to doubt its authenticity,” McDannell asked Drescher.

That question led to a lengthy pause as Drescher perused the one-page resolution document – “No,” Drescher replied as he scratched his head and cast a tight-lipped look the plaintiff attorney’s way.

Seltzer revisited Drescher’s assessment on cross examination. He noted the “CONFIDENTIAL” designation on the document and its wording asserting the closed session resolution held the same legal weight as other board resolutions.

“I don’t recall that ever happening,” Drescher replied.

“Do you have any memory of this one,” Seltzer asked Drescher of the resolution in his hand.

“I don’t.”

“Do you recall the EDA board ever approving Ms. McDonald’s purchase of a $2.5 million dollar farm for Curt Tran?”

“I don’t,” Drescher answered.

Earlier defense argument and witness questioning indicated what was termed “the Buck Mountain” property purchases involving William Vaught Jr., McDonald’s DaBoyz LLC real estate company, and TLC Settlements closing company had been made as a potential site for an industrial farming operation for Front Royal Farms LLC, an entity created by ITFederal principal Truc “Curt” Tran. Tran and his ITFederal LLC are two other pivotal EDA civil suit defendants.

Asked if these additional factors altered his perception of the validity of the defense exhibit, Drescher said, “I guess I would, I don’t, I guess I would.”

The trust had yet to wane in June 2017 as Drescher and McDonald fielded tough questions about the workforce housing project at a joint work session with county supervisors.

The hearing reconvenes at 9 a.m. Friday in Warren County Circuit Court.