Court documents reveal DOJ efforts to recover $1.4 million embezzled from Vance Co.
A jet ski, a pontoon boat, multiple new cars, and most recently a piece of Virginia land are among the property which the federal government has filed to seize in relation to a former Vance County finance director who committed suicide after being confronted and confessing to embezzling $1.4 million from the county over a period of two and a half years, according to documents filed by the Department of Justice which reveal previously unreported details.
Although the first seizure warrants were filed over nine months ago, County Manager Renee Perry has confirmed to This Week in the Triangle that no recovered funds or proceeds of assets seized have been returned to the county.
Unless noted otherwise, the following information is based on affidavits submitted by the Department of Justice, including in United States v. Beginning Broadnax Consulting Co. (5:25-cv-00059) and United States v. SEALED (5:24-mj-02092)
Credential Fraud
Katherine Southall Bigelow was hired in August 2019 as the Finance Director for Vance County, with a resume claiming she was a Certified Public Accountant with a Master of Science in Accounting from NC State.
Four years later, in January 2024, an external auditing firm requested a copy of Bigelow's resume and credentials for documentation as the overseer of the audit on the county side. As proof of her CPA, Bigelow attempted to pass off a manipulated screenshot of a Virginia state license lookup showing an inactive CPA holder in Florida with the same first and last name.
The auditors performed an independent CPA lookup and reported the deception to the county attorney and county manager, who also looked up on Bigelow's education credentials and found they were unable to verify her NCSU master's degree.
When confronted in February, the DOJ quotes Bigelow as admitting: "I have been a fraud my whole life." Bigelow was promptly fired for violating Vance County Personnel Policy by lying about her credentials.
Although it was reported at the time of Bigelow's firing that the county was not aware of any inconsistencies in the budget, that would soon change as a new interim finance director was hired and the transactions conducted by Bigelow were audited.
Embezzlement
After "unusual unauthorized transactions" were discovered by the interim finance director, law enforcement was brought in, including the Vance County Sheriff's Office, the NC State Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ultimately, there were 11 unauthorized bank transfers by Bigelow discovered between June 23, 2021 and December 19, 2023 for a total of $1,399,589.48.
In the first two years of her term as finance director, Bigelow was constrained by the key safeguard of dual approval, which required both the Finance Director and the Assistant Finance Director to sign off on any transfers sent from the county's main operation account from which she embezzled the funds.
Bigelow wasted no time once the shackles of accountability were released, making the first fraudulent transfer of $43,291.39 marked as "COVID expense" approximately two days after the former Assistant Finance Director resigned and she gained sole approval over transfers from the account.
And, when a new Assistant Finance Director was hired, Bigelow did not add them to the account to reestablish this important oversight.
At least two expense accounts Bigelow embezzled from were COVID related accounts funded with at least $10,000 by the federal government: "COVID-19 ALL OTHER" and "ARPA EXPENSES" (American Rescue Plan Act.)
Where did the money go?
All eleven fraudulent transactions were laundered through an account belonging to Country Living Rentals LLC (CLR,) a corporation registered in Apex with Tracie Melissa Jenkins listed as the Registered Agent and Nicole Jenkins Manning as the Manager.
Over $1 million of the embezzled funds were transferred to accounts belonging to or associated with Bigelow.
Although some portion approximately $300k left in the CLR accounts has been "dissipated," a filing from the DOJ this month reveals that "the government is currently negotiating with the members of CLR for an agreement to return the funds remaining."
Before confronting Bigelow on March 9, 2024 and obtaining a confession regarding the embezzled funds, the FBI began filing for seizure warrants, including up to $906,638.97 in associated bank accounts, as well as the following property purchased with the illicit funds:
2024 Jeep Wrangler
2024 Honda Pilot MP-A WD Elite
2023 Starcraft SLS-3QDH Pontoon Boat + 2024 Loadrite dual axle trailer
2023 CAN-AM 8EPH (ATV?)
2022 Kawasaki Jet Ski + 2014 Triton LT trailer
$6,557.47 in furniture orders from Karobway Furniture & Floor Coverings
The most recent complaint for forfeiture was filed this month in regards to a property at 954 Whippoorwill Trail, Brodnax, Virginia, 23920 which was purchased in the name of Beginning Broadnax Consulting Co, a corporation belonging to Bigelow which was formed in March 2023.
Bigelow spent nearly $400k in embezzled funds on the property, including $100,343.16 to purchase the lot, with approximately $269,524.12 in improvements, including septic, well drilling, and construction.