‘Questionable’ payments cited in court documents after 2012 computer sale to Bibb schools

In the year or so after Progressive Consulting Technologies Inc. received nearly $3.7 million from an alleged fraudulent technology sale to the Bibb County school system, the Macon-based company paid out about the same amount in “questionable expenditures” to 16 people and entities, according to court records.

Documents pertaining to the payments were filed after they were discussed in broad terms during a July hearing in U.S. District Court. The judge instructed an attorney representing the school system in its multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Progressive, former school Superintendent Romain Dallemand and others to file details of the transactions under seal.

The documents, unsealed Tuesday, detail two payments totaling nearly $3.7 million from CompTech Computer Technology in Ohio within 10 days of each other, beginning on Christmas Eve 2012. The money was deposited in Progressive’s operating account.

Progressive then paid NComputing Inc. about $1.75 million for computer equipment, leaving $1.94 million unaccounted for, according to the documents.

School district attorneys received Progressive’s bank records after filing subpoenas in the case.

According to the court documents, payments from Progressive’s operating account included:

▪  Six payments totaling $533,000 to Progressive Property Management LLC, another company owned by Isaac Culver III, owner of Progressive Technologies Inc.

Culver did not return a call from The Telegraph Tuesday seeking comment.

▪  Thirteen payments totaling $395,760.64 to Dave Carty, Culver’s business partner in Progressive Technologies Inc. Carty and Culver were indicted this summer on federal fraud charges stemming from the technology sale.

▪  One payment to former Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority chairman Cliffard Whitby’s construction company, Whitby Inc., totaling $73,126.38. Whitby was indicted last week on allegations that he paid Dallemand more than $400,000 in bribes. Whitby Inc. received an additional two payments, totaling $427,018, from Progressive Property Management LLC.

▪  One payment to Maryland-registered Integrated Technology Consulting of $276,000. Integrated’s lawyer has said that his client was a partner in an investment venture with Progressive and had agreed to hold the money. Integrated backed out of the deal and returned the money.

Records filed Monday identified Whitby Inc. and Whitby’s Posiventures Initiative LLC as other parties in the deal and showed that the $276,000 was wired to attorneys representing Culver and Carty this summer.

A footnote in the documents contends that “there appears to be an intimate connection between” Integrated, Whitby Inc. and Cliffard Whitby due to “for deposit only” writings on the back of checks made payable to Integrated, Whitby Inc. and Whitby showing that the same person deposited the checks for the three entities.

▪  Five payments to Clyde Phillips totaling $325,387. Bibb County tax records show that Phillips lives across the street from Culver, another footnote in the documents says.

▪  Eight payments to Culver and his wife totaling $238,300.

▪  Twenty-one payments to Progressive Consulting Technology’s payroll account totaling $895,000.

▪  Seven payments to Progressive Consulting Technology’s operating account totaling $175,000.

▪  One payment to Whitby’s Posiventures Initiative LLC of $100,000.

▪  Two payments to Reach 360 LLC totaling $77,753.13. Robford Hill, someone affiliated with Reach 360, provided a reference for Progressive to be the technical project manager for the alleged fraudulent sale to Bibb County schools, according to a footnote.

▪  One payment of $66,000 to Glenwood Hill, Robford Hill’s father, according to a footnote.

▪  Four payments to Technical Services totaling $52,210.60. Technical Services’ connection to Progressive is unclear, the documents said.

▪  Two payments totaling $37,799.61 to Cirrus Technologies Inc. Although the documents don’t identify the vice president of Cirrus Technologies by name, they say the same person was a former vice president of Progressive and that Progressive recovered insurance money after his death.

▪  One payment of $36,557.83 to Capricorn Systems Inc., an information technology staffing company. Capricorn Systems’ connection to Progressive is unclear.

▪  One payment of $33,781.09 to Tista Science & Technology, a company with an unknown connection to Progressive.

▪  One payment of $13,637.76 to Phelicia McCallum, a relative of Clyde Phillips.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 1:07 PM with the headline "‘Questionable’ payments cited in court documents after 2012 computer sale to Bibb schools."