Wanda Greene's attorney files in new fraud case. What are these lawsuits costing taxpayers?

ASHEVILLE - An attorney for ex-Buncombe County manager Wanda Greene has filed a motion denying most claims brought against her in a July 6 lawsuit claiming she, her son and her daughter-in-law had been involved in fraudulent money transfers.

The lawsuit, brought against the three Greene family members by Buncombe County, alleges Wanda Greene for years had been transferring money out of her possession and into possession of Michael Greene, her son, and his wife Celena Greene.

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Wanda Greene — who is serving a five-year sentence after being convicted of two counts of federal program fraud, one count of making and subscribing a federal tax return and one count of receipt of kickbacks and bribe — still owes Buncombe more than $419,000, money she was ordered to pay after losing a different lawsuit for inappropriate use of county funds.

She has “failed and refused” to pay that amount, despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in money transfers since 2017, the July 6 lawsuit alleges.

Greene in January 2019 paid the county $750,000 for the dismissal of the claims against her, the lawsuit states.

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Attorneys in the July 6 case allege numerous transfers moving Wanda Greene’s money to her son and daughter-in-law’s possession were concealed, not made in good faith and fraudulent.

Greene has been insolvent since 2017, the lawsuit states, meaning she has been unable to pay her debts.

The motion to dismiss, made by Asheville-based attorney Walter Daniels, denies those and other claims and stated seven separate defenses.

The motion to dismiss was filed on behalf of all three defendants, but an early motion to extend — giving the Greenes more time to respond — included only Wanda Greene’s name. Accordingly,  Asheville-based Van Winkle Law Firm attorneys Ronald Payne and Philip Anderson filed for entry of default in the case, moving to allow their client Buncombe County to effectively win the case immediately.

Buncombe County Wanda Green... by Andrew Jones

But, Payne and Anderson told the Citizen Times, Daniels told them in an email his secretary made a mistake Daniels didn’t catch by not including Michael Greene and Celena Greene in the motion to extend.

The court has yet to rule on the entry for default, but Daniels believes the case will move forward now that he has filed a complete motion to dismiss with all defendants’ names on it.

“I feel that the entry of default will be set aside,” he said in an Aug. 23 email. “As you know, Ms. Greene has already paid a substantial settlement to the county, and has done nothing wrong in this instance. I cannot comment further without authorization from my clients. I am meeting with them tomorrow.”

Daniels did not respond to a question asking him about the “mistake” made by his office leaving Michael and Celena off the motion to extend.

Wanda Greene, who according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons is serving her sentence at Residential Reentry Management Raleigh in Granville County, is set for release March 3, 2023.

According to the July 6 lawsuit, Michael Greene and Celena Greene are Buncombe County residents.

Buncombe has been pursuing civil action against Greene since 2018, specifically in two lawsuits — one related to what a federal investigation uncovered about Greene’s awarding public contracts for kickbacks, bribes, gifts and favors and another for her illicit payments to the Tyron International Equestrian Center and related organizations.

Ongoing legal action against Greene in the “equestrian” case has overlapped timelines with the new money fraud case.

When asked why they waited until July 6 to file this latest lawsuit, Payne and Anderson pointed to that timeline. “We didn’t have a judgment until August of 2021,” Payne said. “She had 30 days she could have appealed that judgment. That put us into September. Then we started what’s called the ‘notice of right to set off exemptions,’ and we served those papers on her and she responded and we objected. … That pushed us into this year.”

Those exemptions effectively let Greene know her property was going to be taken from her after the judgment and allowed her to object.

As that back-and-forth happened in court, Payne said Van Winkle “subpoenaed certain records that have enabled us to see that transfers had occurred and gave us the basis… for bringing the lawsuit.”

Buncombe is retaining Van Winkle’s legal counsel in lawsuits involving Wanda Greene illicit action for $350 per hour, according to a contract drawn up March 8, 2018.

The lawsuits have cost Buncombe taxpayers thousands, but the returns have been much greater, according to spokesperson Kassi Day,

In an Aug. 23 email, she said Buncombe “has recovered $3,563,981.70 related to the Greene events of 2017 and we have paid out $176,162.46.”

Andrew Jones is Buncombe County government and health care reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Wanda Greene attorney files in new Buncombe money fraud case