Monday, I heard a report on the radio that Governor Cooper named Mac McKeller to a judgeship. My ears perked up as McKeller was the court appointed attorney for Diane McKinny. Earlier this year, Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) member, Diane McKinny was indicted on Federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Marion Kent Covington was named alongside McKinny in the scheme which obtained several thousand dollars from filing fraudulent unemployment claims for several companies where most employees were WOFF members.

Recently filed court documents have McKeller asking for a continuance and a withdrawal from representing McKinny. Diane McKinny’s court date has been moved to January 7, 2019, 9:00AM in Courtroom 1 at the US Federal Courthouse in Asheville.

In other court documents filed in the case against Marion Kent Covington for the same charges, Attorney Stephen Cash requested and was granted an extension of time to work out details of a plea agreement. The new deadline was October 26th. In documents filed today, the “Factual Basis” outlined several important aspects of the case.

First, the document was not meant to give all the facts known about this case.

“This Factual Basis is filed pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 11.2 and does not attempt to set forth all the facts known to the United States at this time. By their signatures below, the parties expressly agree that there is a factual basis for the guilty plea that the defendant will tender pursuant to the Plea Agreement, and that the facts set forth in the Factual Basis are significant to establish all of elements of the crime. The parties agree not to object to or otherwise contradict the facts set forth in the Factual Basis.”

This paragraph leaves open for additional actions which the Government may take involving this scheme. The next few paragraphs outline the scheme in brief and then leads into a detailed breakdown of how the unemployment programs worked during the years in question. The reporting requirements were detailed. Maneuvering around these requirements took forethought.

Starting in paragraph #23- the document outlines the steps taken by Covington and McKinny to manipulate the required reporting and the employees involved. The crisis in the national economy was put forth as a reason for the scheme. The explanation makes it clear not every employee at the companies involved were used in the fraud scheme. The details of the scheme for Diverse Corporate Technologies, Inc (DCT) go through paragraph #31.

This document mentions other companies involved in this scheme besides DCT. These companies include Foot and Ankle Center of the Carolinas, P.A.- Dr. Jerry Gross. (he pleaded guilty), Carolina Outdoor Design owned by James “Randy” Fields, Integrity Marble and Granite, (IMG)- owned by Covington and Sky Catcher Communication, Inc- a business managed in part by Covington. The document makes it clear the other owner of Sky Catcher was not involved in the scheme.

As the progression of the scheme unfolds, paragraph #32 holds some revealing language. Directly from the Factual Basis:

“After successfully implementing the scheme at DCT, COVINGTON and MCKINNY, along with others, such as the leader of their church community, Jane WHALEY, promoted variations of the scheme to other businesses, including other businesses owned or managed by COVINGTON. These conspirators promoted the scheme as a way for community businesses to weather the financial downturn.”
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