More Senior Scamming From SC Lt. Governor’s Office
As the head of South Carolina’s “Office on Aging,” Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has a task force to investigate “Senior Fraud.”
Maybe he needs to investigate his own office.
That’s because new details are emerging about the Senior Scam that has Bauer, his chief-of-staff Jim Miles and Spartanburg businesswoman Karen Floyd scrambling to justify how taxpayer resources keep going to support a money-making scheme that exploits the very senior citizens Bauer’s “Office on Aging” is sworn to protect.
Last November, the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier first exposed the “Senior Shield” scam when it revealed that $85,000 in public money was funneled through the Office on Aging to “Senior Shield LLC,” a for-profit corporation established by Bauer’s chief-of-staff Jim Miles.
Most of this money was promptly sent to Karen Floyd’s Palladian Group, which has been hired to market the scam.
Floyd – who is currently running for SCGOP chairman – is also making thousands of dollars as Lt. Governor’s political fund-raiser, which raises additional ethical questions.
Basically, “Senior Shield” sells the Lt. Governor’s “blessing” to South Carolina businesses, awarding them a “Senior-Friendly” designation they can slap on their store windows and promotional materials – provided, of course, they fork over nearly $200 a year to Senior Shield.
It’s a total scam – and a taxpayer-funded one at that.
Since the Post and Courier report was published last year, Senior Shield has supposedly gone from a for-profit to a not-for-profit, but sources tell FITS the “for-profit” scam is still ongoing.
That’s because “Senior Shield” – whose Floyd-drafted marketing plan began to crumble under the weight of all the bad press – is now having to seek out new sources of income.
And surprise, surprise … they’re using taxpayer-funded resources again.
Specifically, Senior Shield is availing itself of an online directory called SC Access – which is supposed to be a free government service provided by the Office on Aging.
This directory – which cost $1.2 million in taxpayer dollars to create – is billed as “a guide to available resources for older adults, people with disabilities, their family members and caregivers in South Carolina.”
It’s also apparently a fertile ground for the “Senior Scammers” to make money.
According to an e-mail obtained by FITS, SC Access is now being blatantly exploited to pad the pocket of “Senior Shield,” which means more money for Miles and Floyd.
Under the guise of protecting the public, SC Access is “adopting” Senior Shield to “verify” that the businesses which are listed by this taxpayer-funded directory are “legitimate.”
Hogwash.
From the e-mail pitch:
“… effective July 1, 2009, businesses and service providers will be required to be background checked and verified by Senior Shield if they are to be listed on SC Access.
SC Access will be utilizing Senior Shield, powered by SeniorChecked, to manage the application, verification and technology. As a currently listed organization, you are encouraged to take the next steps to maintain your listing.
What are the next steps?
Paying “Senior Scam,” of course – which is why the e-mail provides several “limited-time discounts” ranging from $135 – $175.
Not surprisingly, a cut of that money will go to Miles’ 501(c)3, which you may remember prior to the Post and Courier story running last November was a limited liability corporation.
Amazingly, interim Office of Aging director Tony Kester is the point of contact for this scam.
This is outrageous, people.
A disgrace.
And Bauer, Miles and Floyd should be ashamed of themselves.
Taxpayers created this service to provide seniors with information, not so the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging could “require” South Carolina businesses to cough up cash to Miles and Floyd.
Again, these are the people who are supposed to be protecting seniors from scams, not getting in on the scamming.
Keep in mind that Miles is doing all this while drawing a $97,970 taxpayer-funded salary.
Meanwhile, Kester is making $98,228 a year courtesy of the taxpayers.
And as noted previously, Floyd’s firm got over $80,000 worth of tax dollars for its work on “Senior Scam.”
Instead of doing the jobs we are paying them to do, though, these people are effectively blackmailing businesses into paying them so that they can remain listed on a directory that the taxpayers have already paid for.
That can’t be legal, can it?
Bauer’s “Office on Aging” has stunk to high heaven ever since Miles and Floyd got involved, and frankly, it’s about time somebody started investigating its operations.
After all, how can we trust these people to protect our seniors if they are in on the scams?
WEB EXTRA
Comments
By Shark on April 15th, 2009 at 9:16 am
this is absolutely disgusting.
By Lois on April 15th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Wow . . . I feel sick reading this. This state is in trouble.
By Billy Bob on April 15th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I agree that Andre should receive criticism for this and it should be fully vetted. But you trying to pull Karen Floyd into this is classic crap from you
Here are some facts:
-Karen will be elected SCGOP Chair
-You will continue to be considered scum at the SCGOP and will not get any $ or love
-You will continue to be upset that Kevin Hall dropped out and you don’t get at least one stable source of income
By Vic Nettles on April 15th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Did HERO Sanford put you up to this lie
By Barry on April 15th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I went on the Senior Shield site and it looks to me like they have 20 or so businesses that have signed up. So it is hardly worth anyone’s time to mess with it.
SC Access is a shining success of government at its best. Senior Shield is a political creation and a business disaster. So what does Bauer do? He kills SC Access in an effort to prop up the Andre Spin Machine (Senior Shield).
Many of us in the Community of Aging are tired of our seniors being used to promote Bauer.
By fitsnews on April 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am
BB-
:)
-FITS
By TGG on April 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
The only Shield in this sad story is the one Bauer hides behind as he runs for higher office. It is a shield made up of little old ladies and the poor and of ill seniors. He does as he wants and then retreats behind the Shield. The Shield is overtly political, cowardly and beneath the dignity of a high official.
No senior citizen in this state benefits as much from our tax dollars as Andre Bauer. Every state computer or phone, every tax dollar, staff member and government asset is used to promote Bauer.
By rick on April 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Has been for many years and will continue until the average taxpayer figures out that their being had by the good ol’ boys.
By Cooter Brown on April 15th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Two Gobner candidate prooove to be scalawags– who will rise to da occashun? We needs us a General Wade Hampton fer some ol’ fashun SC Redemptshun!!! Put on yer Red Shirts, boys, we gonna ride again!
By Cooter Brown on April 15th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Billy Bob, WTF?!?!?!?
By Sammy on April 15th, 2009 at 10:43 am
It might be legal, but not moral or ethical. The state ethics commission was created by and works for the legislature (Bauer is president of senate). So it might be perfectly legal to divert money away from needy senior citizens to Andre Bauer and at the same time be the dirtiest move ever. Don’t expect anyone in SC to do anything about this. This is how the game is played. Respectable people like Karen Floyd and many others might not like the Bauers campaigning on the backs of old people but she will take the money. SC politics is, after all, about the money.
By GTA on April 15th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I like how this story is peppered with elements of the truth. It seems that people want to embellish information about Karen just because she is doing well for herself in the SCGOP Chair’s race. Sic, how much money did ol’ Warren Tompkins pay you to run this story about Karen?
By D.Wilson on April 15th, 2009 at 10:56 am
I heard Karen say that her Palladian Group was no longer involved in political fundraising and governmental affairs. That would mean that she is not Andre’s political fundraiser as you mentioned in the story, correct? It speaks a lot ethically about a person to stop a part of their personal business to do the right thing. This whole story seems a little tainted with undertones of people who want to discredit the success of someone…
By w on April 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am
GTA…..you are an idiot. Will has never even thought about doing business with that shit-head tompkins. Unlike Tompkins….Will has a moral compass when it comes to policy and politics….women are another matter…..but that is of little consequence.
Name one time Will has written a piece that A. wasnt factual and B. was deliberately misleading as a result of payment.
By IRS on April 15th, 2009 at 11:06 am
This looks like nothing more than a smear campaign to wound Karen Floyd. As this article goes back and forth from fact and opinion I don’t see where Karen or her company did anything wrong. I too wonder how much you are getting paid to push these smears.
By Clint on April 15th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Andre Bauer would push his own grandma off a cliff if there were votes in it. I don’t buy it that Miles and Floyd are behind this. Bauer gets the votes so it stands to reason that he is calling the shots.They work for Bauer.
Grandpa, watch out. An election for governor is coming up, and Bauer might be few votes short.
By Cyrus Banks on April 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I heard that Ginny Allen has formed her own company that is handling Andre’s political fundraising.
By Jamie on April 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I love that Cooter Brown! He always has something good to say! Let’s put on tem red shirts and ride again!
By Jamie on April 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Bauer is grin’in like a possum in that photo!
By Judy on April 15th, 2009 at 11:24 am
It seems to me that Andre is really the bad guy in all of this. He smiles and shakes those hands of those seniors that he is “serving” with his Office on Aging. He hands out blankets here and there to cold seniors and talks about it at every event that he speaks at like he hand knitted those blankets himself. What really bothers me is that he actually thinks he has a shot to be the first in command in SC. I think it’s even funnier how people in SC political circles, like Karen Floyd and Rod Shealy, are dropping Andre like a bad habit. They see him for what he really is- an overdressed political hack who has always been out for protecting himself from the heat by putting the blame off on others while continuing to advance his personal notion of “serving” others by being in office. Stop the charades, Andre. No one is laughing, no one is believing it, but boy are we watching.
By Robert on April 15th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I understand Karen Floyd handed the Andre Bauer fundraising account to her cousin Suzie Long. Ms. Long works with Karen everyday in her business. They operate the Bauer campaign stuff under a different name and use one of Karen’s other addresses to collect mail, etc. Of course, I got this from someone at a fundraiser, and booze was being consumed. But I think I have it right.
So much for the ethics of Ms. Floyd.
By Chris Richardson on April 15th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Andre is the one to blame here. He is, and always be in my book, a crook who is always out to promote himself no matter who he steps on to get it done. Too bad he is letting Karen and Jim take the fall for him on this one.
By bonehead on April 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Cyrus,
If Ginny Allen is handling Andre’s stuff, he is more stupid than I thought. She has to be one of the most disliked politicos in the state. She and Rick Beltram would do well together.
By Jimmy on April 15th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I just heard Karen Floyd is cancelling her contract with Senior Shield and giving back part of the 15 grand a month retainer she is on. Is this true?
By Barbara on April 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
A Federal grant funded the development of SC Access as a public service to make information available to consumers regarding services for seniors and persons with disabilities. Baey has pointed out that this fine service directory should not be dismantled in an effort to bring funds into Senior Shield. Service providers for seniors and persons with disabilities have been notified that they must pay for Senior Shield in orde
By Sue on April 15th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Well Bauer’s attempt at kickbacks did not work with Senior Shield so he has devised another way to line his pockets at everyone else’s expense. He went from the voluntary Senior Shield program to recruit businesses that netted only a few businesses so he decided to make it mandatory for SC Access in order to fund his campaign. It is appalling!
By Helena on April 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Why isn’t Senior Shield an nonprofit as opposed to a not-for-profit? Generally a nonprofit refers to an organization that is not intended to make a profit, and a not-for-profit is more like an activity, like lining the pockets of shady politicians.
By Elliot on April 15th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Poor Barbara does not understand that Andre Bauer can spend money anyway he wants. And who will call him on it? Legislature? Atty General? Solicitor? SLED?
None of them will. They are all playing the same game.
I say Andre for US Senate.. he can steal money from other states and give to us. It is always best to have the crooks working on OUR side!
By charlotte watchdog on April 15th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
FITS:
I am very confused. Why now, at this late date are you bashing K-Flo? (every day). You bring out things that I am sure you have known for a long time and have been verified before NOW.
What is the agenda? What are we missing?
CW
By Nettie on April 16th, 2009 at 12:37 am
I am confused as to how exactly Karen Floyd is connected to all this.
By hello on April 16th, 2009 at 8:48 am
This article is spot on, the only thing missing is that the employess who Currently run SCAccess have been crying foul for months, there jobs are in jeopardy b/c of Miles’ agenda, there are other names behind this story I can verify with 100% accuracy the facts. The few employees who have been working with great passion and care for this program will be poorly projuected through this scam, there side will be heard. I havent figured out who leaked the letter yet, but god bless you.
By KevinF on April 16th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Karen Floyd is not the point of the story. She may be the one making money, but Andre Bauer is the one sending it to her. But if the poster Robert is correct, then it may become about Floyd because if she did “hide” her involvment with Bauer by givingthe account to her associate and cousin then that says a lot about her.
By Sue on April 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
If Bauer was so concerned about helping the Seniors he would have required background checks on SC Access members when he initially launched the Senior Shield program. Since the Senior Shield program did not provide the funds he anticipated to line his pockets he is now forcing businesses to participate in the program.
By Frank Adams on April 17th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Distortions and inaccuracies woven into this account and comments lead to the recommendation that the facts about Senior Shield may be found at:
http://www.aging.sc.gov/officeonaging/AdvisoryCouncilOnAging.htm
By Tam Elbrun on June 9th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Mr. Hammond today put Mr. Miles on his Scrooges & Angels for 2009.
Or is it ‘really’ that Mr. Miles might have had his eye too on the governors race, given that (all involved in this A. Bauer downfall scandal) if not guilty are certainly with dirty hands? Mr. Miles, yet another contender for governor, rolled; like Thomas. It’s a closed race and the deciders decided long ago who the contenders would be. As for Mrs. Floyd, she always walks, never rolls; and now she is Chair of the SCGOP, you go Karen, keep on walking like the good Greek Palladian Athena you are.
Think about it.
Tam
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