Monday, August 13, 2012
Rachel Duncan, the former accountant for the S.C. Hospitality Association, will be sentenced Tuesday.
The former accountant for the S.C. Hospitality Association will be sentenced this week for embezzling close to $500,000 from the organization, according to news reports. Rachel Duncan's sentencing is set for Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Duncan pleaded guilty almost four months ago to federal charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. Duncan admitted to transferring the hospitality association's money into her personal account between 2006 and 2012 to feed a gambling addiction. In hopes of a reduced sentence, Duncan's attorney detailed her history of gambling addiction and abusive relationships in court documents, according to a report in The State. Duncan will agree to pay back $367,500 to the association, according to the …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The ex-accountant said she is addicted to gambling, but is getting help for the problem.
Rachel Duncan, the former accountant for the S.C. Hospitality Association, said nothing is left of the nearly $500,000 she stole from the organization and used for online gambling. In an exclusive interview with The State newspaper last week, Duncan said she is "embarrassed" about her gambling addiction. Duncan pleaded guilty last Wednesday to federal charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. During the court hearing, prosecutors also said they found sexually-oriented photos of Duncan on former association director Tom Sponseller's computer. But Duncan told The State newspaper that she did not have a sexual relationship with Sponseller, and did not give him the photos. “Tom and I were really close but not like they said,” Duncan told The …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tom Sponseller, who killed himself in February, had sexually-oriented photos of Rachel Duncan, who pleaded guilty Wednesday to tax fraud, on his computer, prosecutors say.
Tom Sponseller, former director of the S.C. Hospitality Association, might have had a sexual relationship with the accountant who pleaded guilty to embezzling money from the organization, prosecutors said Wednesday in federal court. Prosecutors said they found sexually-oriented photos of accountant Rachel Duncan on Sponseller's computer, according to a report from WIS. Duncan was in federal court in Columbia to plead guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion charges, according to the report. She is accused of taking more than $480,000 from the association to use for online gambling. But prosecutors found no indication that Sponseller received any of the stolen money, according to the Assoicated Press. Duncan worked closely with Sponseller, …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tom Sponseller's suicide note shows his feelings on federal investigation
The suicide note left by South Carolina lobbyist Tom Sponseller revealed his embarassment over a federal investigation into the business he led and his disappointment in himself. The note, initially discovered by Sponseller's co-workers and obtained by WIS, seemed to explain why Sponseller may have killed himself. "It is quite disappointing that all the work our members and staff put into building one of the best associations in the state has been jeopardized," Sponseller's note said, referring to a federal investigation into missing money at the S.C. Hospitality Assocation. Sponseller said he "failed to make sure everything was right," with the missing money until police had already discovered it. See all of Patch's coverage of Tom …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
S.C. Hospitality Association President disappeared 10 days ago.
Update (3:30 p.m.): Scott Disappointed CPD Couldn't Find Body Sooner Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said he was disappointed that it took his department more than a week to locate the body of a South Carolina lobbyist who killed himself on Feb. 18. Scott held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to announce that the body of Tom Sponseller had been found in a back room of a parking garage in downtown Columbia. Sponseller, reported missing by his family on Feb. 18, apparently commited suicide and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said. A 9 mm handgun was found near the body, police said. "I'm really disappointed that the family had to go through this many days of grief," Scott said. "I …
Friday, February 24, 2012
S.C. Hospitality Association under federal investigation
Details emerged Thursday of a federal investigation into missing money at the South Carolina Hospitality Association, the organization whose chief executive has gone missing. Law enforcement officials told The State newspaper that the Hospitality Association lost between $100,000 and $900,000. Family reported the association's CEO Tom Sponseller missing Saturday and he has not been seen since. The federal investigation raised questions about whether the disappearance may be related to the missing money. See more coverage of Sponseller's disappearance. The State reported that the association's former accountant Rachel Duncan was a person-of-interest in the investigation into the missing money. Duncan's lawyer said his client was cooperating…
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The lobbyist has been missing since Saturday
Update, 9:08 p.m.: Hundreds of Tom Sponseller's family, friends and colleagues gathered at the South Carolina State House Wednesday for a candlelight vigil -- praying for his safe return. Sponseller, president and chief executive officer of the S.C. Hospitality Association, has been missing since Saturday. "It's been four-and-a-half days and we miss him bad," said Mike Johnson, a neighbor and friend of Sponseller. "He needs to return." "Tom means so much to me and my family, and both my daughters. We have cried ourselves to sleep this week." Johnson, as well as Sponseller's son, Thomas; and Rick Erwin, president of the Restaurant Division of the S.C. Hospitality Association, addressed the crowd of between 250-300 people. "Tom, I don't know…
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
After four days, the search continues for the missing S.C. Hospitality Association president, while a candlelight vigil for his "safe return" is planned Wednesday.
Men like Tom Sponseller don't just "disappear." "He's a Citadel graduate," Lexington Mayor Randy Halfacre said Tuesday. "He's just very disciplined." Disciplined or not, the military college alum has been missing since Saturday, and the whereabouts of the high-profile head of the S.C. Hospitality Association remains a mystery — and police have reportedly not ruled out foul play. "It's like he's just been beamed up into space," remarked Halfacre, a friend of Sponseller's who is wondering, like many others, just what has happened to the 61-year-old lobbyist. Amidst the mystery, friends and family on Wednesday night have planned a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. on the State House grounds for Sponseller's "safe return." The family also has …
D. Dantzler
1:57 pm on Monday, August 13, 2012
Mr. Sponseller feeling the need to commit suicide because of Ms. Duncan's gambling addiction is so tragic. I guess he felt like he could not get pass the investigation even knowing that he was not the one doing the embezzling. I do hope the Hospitality Association gets most of it back......shame on Ms. Duncan! more ›