EDA seeks $4.45 million-plus in civil action against 9 new defendants

McDonald criminal hearings still listed on Friday’s Circuit Court docket

The second civil litigation authorized on April 10th by the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority was filed in Warren County Circuit Court on Wednesday, April 15th. It seeks “judgement against the Defendants jointly and severally for an amount not less than $4,454,100.04” – you’ve got to like the legal-financial preciseness of that 4 cents tagged on to $4.45-million dollars; as well as punitive damages of “at least $350,000 … jointly and severally against each of the defendants.”

Since we’re there so often, we like to give you different views of the Warren County Courthouse. On Wednesday, the EDA filed a new civil suit against 9 new defendants seeking over $4.45 million in damages. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini

As reported in our coverage of authorization to file the new civil litigation, those new defendants are TLC Settlements, LLC, and agent Tracy L. Bowers, Service Title of Front Royal, LLC and processor Victoria L Williams, Century 21-Campbell Realty and principals Jeannette M. and Walter L. Campbell, Rappawan, Inc. and principal William T. Vaught Jr.

The first page of the 30-page complaint links real estate transactions cited in the EDA’s first civil suit against former EDA Executive Director Jennifer R. McDonald and 14 co-defendants, involving the cited settlement and real estate companies and principals.

“From at least 2014 to 2018, several real estate transactions were initiated and/or consummated by the Defendants herein with funds stolen from the Industrial Development Authority of the Town of Front Royal and County of Warren, Virginia (also known as Economic Development Authority/EDA) … in violation of express duties established in the Code of Virginia and well-established legal principals of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” the civil complaint begins, adding the new defendants to the list of alleged accomplices of former EDA Executive Director McDonald.

“This is an action against confederates and co-conspirators of Jennifer R. McDonald … to redress these unlawful takings and to recover assets that are lawfully the property of the Warren EDA, all as alleged (a) below and (b) in that certain First Amended Complaint filed in this Court in Case Number CL19-398,” paragraph one continues.

The EDA office complex as seen from Kendrick Ln., with the original American Viscose logo still emblazoned on the former American Viscose-FMC-Avtex synthetic fibers manufacturing plant that left both an economic and environmental legacy behind.

That opening salvo from the EDA’s Sands Anderson legal team explains the new civil complaint essentially as an expansion of the now-amended first civil complaint which is attached with multiple familiar documents and real estate-transaction exhibits that overlap between the new and old EDA civil complaints.

The sought judgment of a minimum of $4.45 million against the nine new human and business entity defendants, coupled with the Amended First EDA Civil Complaint total of “not less than $21.3-million” against McDonald and 14 co-defendants brings the total EDA assets being sought for recovery to about $26 million in real estate or financial assets.
The ”Overview” of the new civil complaint lists seven “schemes to unlawfully enrich themselves at the expense of the Warren EDA” involving “money unlawfully taken from Warren EDA by one or more of the Defendants in the following seven (7) matters.”

Those matters are:

“A – the Workforce Housing/Royal Lane Property Embezzlements (Century 21-Campbell Realty);

B – Purchase of 1321 Happy Creek Road, Front Royal, Va. (TLC Settlements-Bowers);

C – Purchase of 2951 Rileyville Road, Page County, Va. (TLC Settlements-Bowers).;

D – Purchase and Sale Transactions with William Vaught and Rappawan (also TLC-Bowers involvement);

E – Purchase of House for Samuel North (Service Title of FR-Williams);

F – Purchase of House for Jesse Poe (Service Title of FR-Williams);

G – Purchase of House for William Lambert (Service Title of FR-Williams).

Much detail on the specific transactions and amounts of money involved in various related transactions are included in the civil complaint now on file at the Warren County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

McDonald hearing?

In a related matter, we asked Circuit Court Clerk Angie Moore if scheduled afternoon civil and criminal hearings for Jennifer McDonald on Friday, April 17, were still on. Moore replied that the civil hearings had been tentatively continued to May 8, at 2:30 p.m., but the criminal hearings were still appearing on Friday’s docket at 3:30 p.m.

Jennifer McDonald in Aug. 2019, after her second arrest following one of a series of special grand jury indictment packages against her.

Contacted later on Thursday, Special EDA criminal prosecutor Michael Parker of Rockingham County said he was still awaiting word from Judge Bruce D. Albertson on whether those criminal hearings would occur in the courtroom, by remote phone and/or video conference call connections, or might also be continued as the civil hearings were.

Given the opportunity, McDonald attorney Peter Greenspun is likely to argue Friday that Coronavirus pandemic or not, about a year down the road from her first arrest it’s time for the prosecution to move forward on the criminal cases against his client if they have the evidence to do so.

COVID-19 pandemic emergency management protocols in place statewide and locally continue to impact, not only social, business, and local government operations, but some “non-essential” court functions as well. One might guess from previous courtroom comments by McDonald’s attorney Peter Greenspun, that he considers moving forward toward resolution of the 30-plus felony financial indictments against his client as an “essential” court function under right-to-speedy-trial statutes.

Royal Examiner will attempt to be present physically, virtually, or by any other means available to keep you posted on what happens or doesn’t happen tomorrow on the EDA-McDonald legal front.