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by Jennifer Emert, WLOS
ASHEVILLE — Michael Greene, Wanda Greene’s son and former Buncombe County business intelligence manager was sentenced to Wednesday morning to 6 months and a $5,000 fine for his plea in the federal public corruption case involving the use of county credit cards for personal gain.
In addition to serving as Buncombe County’s former business intelligence manager, Michael Green is also the son of former county manager Wanda Greene.
In court documents, Michael Greene said he was aware his mother improperly used the county-issued Visa card of a subordinate to buy the family cell phones and other electronic devices and to cover their phone bills in addition to gift cards.
Greene got in trouble himself in 2009 when he was called into question. In 2009, the internal auditor was Tim Flora. According to the federal indictments, Flora’s audit concluded Michael Greene engaged in systemic fraud against the county in 2009. Greene wasn’t suspended or terminated, but he was ordered to reimburse the county $1,500.
Charges, plea agreement and sentencing
In the criminal indictment against him, Greene was charged with one count of conspiracy and 49 counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting the same.
Greene indicated he’ll plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and fines totaling $250,000 or both. As a condition of the plea, Greene wouldn’t have been required to testify against his mother.
As the federal sentencing guidelines relate to Greene’s case, the offense calls for a sentence of zero to six months in prison.
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