Wanda Greene accused of claiming Buncombe County as a loss on tax returns

• Prosecutors say Greene claimed she was the sole proprietor of a business named Buncombe County.
• The business had no income but did have $37,000 in expenses in 2017, according to an indictment.
• That falsified tax return was allegedly filed by Greene after she had been indicted.

ASHEVILLE — Her official title was county manager. But in a tax return, prosecutors say Wanda Greene considered herself the exclusive business owner of Buncombe County.

New allegations in an indictment charge Greene with six counts of making and subscribing a false federal tax return after prosecutors said she claimed to be the sole proprietor of a business named Buncombe County in 2017 tax forms. The so-called business reported no income but incurred some $37,000 in expenses that year, Greene claimed.

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The former county manager filed the tax return in May, the indictment said. That's about 10 months into the federal investigation and less than two months after a grand jury indictment accused her and her son, Michael Greene, of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on county-issued credit cards.

According to the indictment, Wanda Greene claimed $3,510 in Buncombe County-related vehicle expenses; $25,000 in legal and professional expenses; $400 in supplies; and $8,300 in utilities.

Prosecutors say she falsified six years of tax returns, failing to report $611,723 in additional income received either through embezzlement or the purchase of whole life insurance policies. The majority, $532,000, was spent on insurance premiums, according to the indictment.

Greene also is accused of including more than $63,500 in false business expenses over the six-year period.

Wanda Greene has been indicted three times by a federal grand jury. Since April, she has been charged with embezzlement, money laundering, conspiracy, fraud, receipt of bribes and kickbacks and aiding and abetting.

The most recent indictment, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's office, also charges former assistant managers Jon Creighton and Mandy Stone in connection with an alleged kickback scheme with a longtime county contractor.

The trio are accused of taking kickbacks — vacations, sporting events and spa treatments — from professional engineer Joe Wiseman for years in exchange for more than $15 million in contracts.

All three are due in federal court Aug. 20 for their arraignments. Attorneys for Greene and Creighton say their clients are cooperating with the investigation. Stone's lawyer, Jack Stewart, did not respond to a request for comment.

County to hire tax attorney

Greene's life insurance policies are the subject of one of the federal indictments. She's accused of illegally spending more than $2.3 million of county funds on the valuable policies for herself and other county employees, including her son.

Buncombe County confirmed to the Citizen Times last month that the insurance premiums were not counted as taxable income despite federal law requirements.

Interim County Manager George Wood told commissioners at a regular meeting Tuesday night that Buncombe will be hiring a tax attorney. He said for some employees, the unreported income spans three years beginning in 2015.

"We're in the process of hiring a tax attorney to review that, give us advice on that and deal with the IRS on our behalf," Wood said.

Greene cashed out her two whole-life policies shortly after her retirement last year and received about $396,000, according to one of the indictments. Prosecutors also are seeking that amount through a forfeiture money judgment and also have seized nearly $30,000 in one of her credit union accounts.

Buncombe reached a more than $2 million settlement with Guardian Life Insurance to recoup nearly all county funds spent on premiums. It is still seeking damages from the Greenes through a civil lawsuit.

Greene's son to return policies

Court records show Michael Greene, who worked as the county's business intelligence manager before resigning the day the federal investigation became public, was granted permission to transfer his two life insurance policies back to Buncombe County.

Last month, Greene pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government under a deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office. He had been charged alongside his mother in April in connection with more than $200,000 worth of county card purchases.

Prosecutors say he and his mother used the cards to pay for personal items, including retail purchases and regular payment of personal cell phones for themselves and other family members.

Under the conditions of his release, Greene was required to receive prior approval from the court for any major financial transactions.

He's been ordered to repay more than $11,000 under the agreement and is expected to be sentenced at a later date. The charge carries a maximum five-year prison term and up to $250,000 in fines; prosecutors are expected to ultimately drop his remaining charges.

Michael Greene also must cooperate with investigators but will not be required to testify against his mother.

Wanda Greene's tax returns: How much did she make?

Prosecutors say Greene claimed the following in federal tax returns:

2012: $125,449 in taxable income. Falsely claimed $16,308 in business expenses and did not report $8,400 in additional income from embezzlement.

2013: $139,646 in taxable income. Falsely claimed $10,010 in business expenses and did not report $16,031 in additional income from embezzlement.

2014: $180,195 in taxable income. Did not report $8,413 in additional income from embezzlement.

2015: $253,826 in taxable income. Did not report $29,256 in additional income from embezzlement and $310,000 used to purchase whole-life policies.

2016: $338,730 in taxable income. Did not report $8,766 in additional income from embezzlement and $62,000 spent on insurance policies.

2017: $524,750 in taxable income. Falsely claimed $37,210 in business losses and did not report $8,857 in additional income from embezzlement and $160,000 spent on insurance policies.

You can read the superseding indictment against Wanda Greene here: