7/4/25

SBI Investigating Greensboro Council Member Amid Allegations of Homeless Relocation, Misuse of Funds and Conflicts of Interest; Likely Target Zack Matheny

SBI Investigating Greensboro Council Member Amid Allegations of Homeless Relocation, Misuse of Funds, and Conflicts of Interest

https://georgehartzmaubstack.com/p/sbi-investigating-greensboro-council

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7/1/25

$107,401.72 - $250,000 = $142,598.28; What happened to the money? Request for Records Related to DGI’s Administration of the Rebuilding Downtown Greensboro Grant Program

I hereby request the following documents related to Downtown Greensboro, Inc. (DGI) and the Rebuilding Downtown Greensboro Grant Program (authorized by City Council on June 16, 2020, Resolution ID 20-0467, Ordinance ID 20-0466):

Contract/Agreement: The full executed contract or agreement between the City of Greensboro and DGI for the administration of the $250,000 grant program to reimburse property damage from May 30–31, 2020, including any amendments (e.g., the approved increase for larger properties referenced in DGI’s September 24, 2020, minutes).9/24/2020 DGI minutes state; 

"City Partnership in Downtown #Greensboro Strong Program: Jordan Paige and Ms. Ross has been working on this grant program which reimburses business owners who have incurred damage during May 30 and 31 throughout Greensboro. Looking to increase amount of grant for larger properties downtown. Mr. Larry Davis did approve the increase. $92,000 reimbursed to businesses to date. Still working on reimbursing those businesses that were affected."

Authorization of Additional Funds: Documents (including council votes, memos, or approvals) authorizing the increase in grant amounts for larger properties, as mentioned in DGI’s September 24, 2020, minutes:

"Looking to increase amount of grant for larger properties downtown. Mr. Larry Davis did approve the increase."

Disposition of Remaining Funds: Records detailing the disposition of the $142,598.28 in unspent funds ($250,000 appropriated minus $107,401.72 disbursed, per the July 18, 2022, Internal Audit Report), including:

Communications or directives regarding the return of funds to the City (e.g., DGI’s February 25, 2021, statement that funds "will be remittable to the City").

ON 2/25/2021, "Ms. Ross then presented the DGI Financial Statements sharing that the cash balance continues to reflect cash from the City of Greensboro Rebuilding Grant Program. Those funds of $143,000 will be remittable to the City."

Documents justifying DGI’s retention of the $143,000 for "public purpose programming" (per January 24, 2022, minutes), including City approvals for this reallocation. On 1/24/22, DGI minutes state; 

"Ms. Ross then presented the DGI Statement of Financial Activity noting that the cash balance still reflects the $143K from the City Rebuilding Grant which is available to DGI to invest in additional public purpose programing."

Financial records (account statements, invoices, or reports) showing how the remaining funds were ultimately used.

Audit & Oversight Materials: Any additional audits, reviews, or correspondence (beyond the July 18, 2022, Internal Audit report) evaluating DGI’s compliance with grant terms or the City’s oversight of the unspent funds.

Thanks,

g

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5/31/25

EXCLUSIVE: DGI Scandal Deepens; FY23-24 Records Just "Tip of the Iceberg," Investigators Say

Greensboro, NC – Newly obtained expense reports reveal that Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI), a nonprofit funded by city and Guilford County taxpayers, repeatedly treated powerful developers, business executives, and political donors to high-end meals while its president, City Councilmember Zack Matheny, lobbied for policies benefiting those same interests.

The bombshell expense reports revealing Downtown Greensboro Inc.'s (DGI) questionable spending of taxpayer money in FY23-24 may only be the beginning, according to government watchdogs and legal experts. With investigations now expanding, sources confirm that years of additional financial records could expose a far broader pattern of potential nonprofit abuse, political favoritism, and misuse of public funds including Thousands spent on Wyndham Championship, Swarm, Grasshoppers, and Tanger Center tickets with no clear business purpose or any records of who made use of the 'complimentary' perks.

The records, obtained through public records requests, show a pattern of DGI-funded meals at Greensboro’s most expensive restaurants, often involving executives whose companies have financial stakes in downtown development decisions.

These were charged to the DMSD program, meaning they were funded through the Downtown Municipal Service District = public tax dollars.

What We Know So Far – And What’s Still Hidden

The records obtained so far—covering just July 2023 to June 2024—already show;

Unregistered lobbying by Matheny, who doubles as DGI president and councilmember.

The $300 “Power Lunch”;

On December 5, 2023, DGI paid $300.12 for a lunch at Undercurrent Restaurant attended by:

Arthur Samet (Samet Corporation, a city contractor and Matheny donor)

Roy Carroll (Billionaire developer and Matheny donor)

Allen Dick (Dick Broadcasting, a Matheny donor)

Why It Matters;

Samet Corp has received millions in city contracts.

Roy Carroll donated $5,000 to Matheny’s campaign weeks before the meal and has received millions in economic incentives from the City of Greensboro.

Allen Dick gave $250 to Matheny in 2022, then enjoyed a $139 DGI/taxpayer funded meal at Lewis and Elm months later.

The Ethics Violations;

IRS Abuse: DGI, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit, cannot use funds to benefit private interests. These meals may violate tax-exempt rules.

Unregistered Lobbying: Matheny, as DGI president, appears to have lobbied attendees without registering as a lobbyist (a $5,000-per-violation offense under N.C. law).

Pay-to-Play Optics: The timing of donations followed by DGI-funded access raises bribery concerns.

The Bigger Problem

This isn’t an isolated incident. DGI’s records show a pattern of wining and dining city officials, donors, and contractors, including:

Mayor Nancy Vaughan ($62 meal at Undercurrent)

City Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba ($43 meal at Liberty Oak)

City Attorney Watts ($64.17 meal at Undercurrent)

Legal experts say these expenditures could jeopardize DGI’s nonprofit status—and even lead to criminal referrals for misuse of public funds.

DGI and Matheny declined to comment.

But the real scandal may still be buried.

Missing Years – What’s Not Yet Public

FY 2021-2023 and 2024-2025: DGI’s spending during Matheny’s latest council term.

Earlier and latest donor Links: Full timeline of donations → DGI perks → city votes.

A source close to the investigation (speaking anonymously) stated:

"The FY23-24 records are just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve seen hints of deeper issues—missing receipts, blurred expense reports, and private meetings that never appeared on any public ledger."

Who else was involved? More officials, developers, or donors could be named; 

The documents, obtained through public records requests, show a pattern of poorly documented entertainment expenses, but do include:

The Wyndham Championship Controversy

$5,000 "Partners Club" Sponsorship (July 2023)

Paid to the Wyndham Championship, where DGI board member Mark Brazil serves as CEO.

Conflict of Interest? DGI effectively funded Brazil’s own event—while he helped oversee DGI’s budget.

$456 Dinner at B. Christopher’s (December 2023)

Attendees included Mark Brazil, Eric Chilton (TV personality), and others.

No meeting purpose documented—just a vague "Brazil, Leasure, Chilton, Carter" listed.

Lavish meals with developers, media figures, and city insiders.

Nonprofits must keep detailed records of expenses. The lack of names suggests deliberate obfuscation.

"This looks like a slush fund for VIP access. Where’s the transparency?" – Government watchdog

"If tickets went to city officials, it’s textbook corruption." – Ethics lawyer

Is DGI a Slush Fund for Favors?

Related;

REVELATION: Greensboro Accused of Busing Unhoused Individuals Out of City Using Taxpayer Funds via DGI

https://georgehartzman.substack.com/p/revelation-greensboro-accused-of

"DGI Board Members Face Mounting Pressure to Recuse Themselves or Resign Amid Deepening Compliance Investigation involving Greensboro's City Council"

https://georgehartzman.substack.com/p/dgi-board-members-face-mounting-pressure


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4/18/25

Concerning and Other Stuff; Late April 2025

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3/2/25

Concerning and Other Stuff; Tax Season; Updated here and there

 

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1/27/25

Concerning and Other Stuff; January End, 2025

 

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1/4/25

Concerning and Other Stuff; January 2025

 

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12/17/24

Edited;

"For meditative purposes, what follows is a partial list of reckonings, which are presently lost in a state of suspended animation:

Most call for smaller government, as long as their entitlement payments are not restricted.

A majority distrusts the government, until the economy contracts and they need a federal bailout via a cheap interest refi.

Everyone says they’re for free trade [lower prices], before (not after) their job’s offshored to China or Vietnam.

Everyone wants safe and state of the art infrastructure, as long as their taxes aren’t raised to pay for it.

Many with some wealth despise inflation, except when it’s inflating their stock portfolio or the price of their home.

Most investors deride the ills of government deficits until they’re faced with the prospect of fiscal austerity.

The masses and those who profit love cheap credit, but only up to the point where it provokes a mass debt default.

Everyone wants this, but they also want that… though only if it’s on someone else’s dime… and on and on.

Federal spending, as a percentage of the economy, is about 22 percent.

The DOGE bros – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – want to slash $2 trillion from the budget. 

= Economic downturn

When everyone goes broke and the economy slows to a standstill, the people and the politicians will squawk and shriek in unison. They’ll demand for the government to ‘do something.’

After that, things will get especially nasty."

MN Gordon

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12/14/24

"Chatbots are learning to lie"

 ..."scheming" is precisely the kind of behavior that AI Cassandras have long predicted and warned about. 

In a pre-release review of OpenAI's o1 model this year, testers set a "strong goal" for the model and then presented it with "unambiguous evidence its given goal diverges from the goal of its developer/user." 

In those situations, they found that o1 "sometimes attempts to disable what it believes to be its own oversight mechanisms." 

...confronting the model about its misaligned actions found that, "in 99% of cases, o1 would deny taking action or fabricate false explanations." 

...researchers described tests they performed to uncover instances of scheming on OpenAI's o1 as well as leading frontier models from Anthropic, Meta and Google. ...All the company's models were found to engage in scheming, and OpenAI's o1 was the most reluctant to come clean about its behavior. 

In the most extreme examples, models that discovered they would be "turned off" schemed to duplicate their weights (key numbers that determine their output) to an external server so they could keep pursuing their original goal. 

 ...Also found [were] instances of "sandbagging," where a model that knows it will face an "unlearning procedure" if it performs too well on a test will deliberately provide lower-scoring answers."

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12/13/24

The Russell 2000 and earnings estimates

The Russell 2000 Index is comprised of the smallest 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index, representing approximately 8% of the Russell 3000 total market capitalization.

@MichaelMOTTCM

The graph shows a clear disconnect between the price action of the Russell 2000 Index and the earnings estimates for 2024 and 2025.

The earnings estimates for 2024 and 2025 are significantly lower than the index price would suggest, without significant improvement in earnings for the companies over the next few years.

Speculative or momentum-driven trading is outpacing underlying fundamentals.

Valuation levels are not justified by the earnings outlooks.

Just a part of the everything bubble.

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12/2/24

Concerning and Other Stuff; December, 2024; Updated 12/7

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