How TNGA Rep. Matthew Hill scammed Tennessee taxpayers out of $18,000 TNECD grant money
Last edited Tue Mar 20, 2012, 03:59 PM - Edit history (1)
Back during 2009 and 2010, TNGA Rep. Matthew Hill (R-7, Jonesborough) actively obtained $18,000 in Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development job training grants during 2009-2010 for training employees at his former Right Way Marketing, LLC political telemarketing call center in Johnson City (Washington County) that he co-owned with both his mother, Janet Hill, and his brother --- Tennessee 3rd State House District candidate --- Timothy Hill.
Rep. Matthew Hill was himself never publicly mentioned within local news reports --- or even on the Right Way Marketing web site itself --- as being a director of fledgling political telemarketing company, but this information is listed on the disclosure statements that the Jonesborough representative filed with the Tennessee Ethics Commission.
2011 Tennessee Statement of Disclosure of Interests - TNGA Rep. Matthew Hill
https://apps.tn.gov/conflict-app/view_form_8004.htm?name=HILL&id=10648&f=29445&v=1
2011 Tennessee Statement of Disclosure of Interests (ss-8005) - TRA Chairman Kenneth C. Hill
https://apps.tn.gov/conflict-app/view_form_8005.htm?name=HILL&id=16786&f=34245&v=1
State ss-8005 financial disclosure records on file with the Tennessee Ethics Commission also reveal that Right Way Marketing loaned the 2010 TNGA 3rd House District Timothy Hill candidate (not his campaign) an undisclosed amount money, for an undisclosed purpose, and originating on an unknown date --- although state records reveal that the Right Way Marketing loan to Timothy Hill occurred on or before May 1, 2010. Could the TNECD state grant money received by Timothy Hill actually been directly funneled into his own 2010 Tennessee Republican primary election campaign?:
2011 Tennessee Statement of Disclosure of Interests - TNGA 3rd District House candidate Timothy Hill
https://apps.tn.gov/conflict-app/view_form_8005.htm?name=HILL&id=19377&f=31090&v=1
State records on file with the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development also reveal that Rep. Matthew Hill had spoken to a TNECD employee on August 18, 2009 about the disbursement of state ECD grant monies to Hill's Right Way Marketing for reimbursement of training at the former Johnson City location --- well before the Right Way Marketing, LLC contract for TNDECD training reimbursement grant money was even signed by RWM Director of Operations Jamie Aistrop on September 21, 2009.
The dates of the training periods conducted and claimed by the Hill brother's Right Way Marketing, LLC within state applications and contracts filed with the TNDECD state training reimbursement funds office occurred during the following dates:
First payment – March 1, 2009 through July 15, 2009;
Second payment – December 7, 2009 through December 31, 2009;
Third Payment – February 22, 2010 through February 26, 2010, and;
Fourth Payment – March 23, 2010 through April 2, 2010.
All TNECD training reimbursement grant payment information (amounts, voucher numbers, and transaction dates) to Right Way Marketing by the TNECD Automated Clearing House payment to banking institution provided by Right Way Marketing are as follows:
1) $10,500 – V# 191 - 12-23-09
2) $1,800 – V# 488 – 2-12-10
3) $2,100 – V# 897 – 2-26-10
4) $3,600 – V# 1254 – 6-4-10
TNGA State Representative and Corporate Socialist Matthew Hill (R-7, Jonesborough)
Rep. Hill is also a son of the appointed Tennessee Regulatory Authority Chairman Kenneth Hill, who had filed his own disclosure statement with the Ethics Commmision that indicated that his wife, Janet Hill, also held an interest in Right Way Marketing. A TNECD publication featured a blurb about Right Way Marketing creating 312 jobs and being capitalized at approximately $1,527,000 (News From Tennessee ECD Developments. Volume 1, Issue 2).
Kenneth C. Hill giving oath of office as Tennessee Regulatory Authority Director, 2009.
Business records also filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State listed Timothy Hill as the registered agent of Right Way Marketing, LLC and that the company headquarters were located at the Blountville "Taj MaHill" residence of TRA Chairman Hill.
The Right Way Marekting web page once even featured an image file of the former National College Republican Committee President T.J. Maloney, listed as as the Right Way Marketing "Political Director" --- not a typical executive job title for your run of the mill call center, but perhaps a reasonable job title for an executive associated with a business entity that was seemingly set up to provide telephonic services for partisan (read here, Republican) caandidates for elected office.
Internet Wayback Machine - Right Way Marketing April 20, 2010
http://web.archive.org/web/20100420112941/http://www.rightwaymarketingtn.com/
Rep. Matthew Hill and his brother, Timothy Hill (then the "public face" manager of Right Way Marketing and a 2010 Republican Primary candidate within the Tennessee 3rd House District election in a district covering both Johnson County and Sullivan County) had closed the Johnson City business operations of Right Way Marketing within three weeks of completing in the last employee training period in order to obtain additional Tennessee Economic & Community Development job training grant money, and then simply transferred the Right Way Marketing business operations to the 3rd House District near Blountville --- sans the Right Way Marketing employees from the Johnson City that had been trained with thousands of state tax dollars.
Approximately $18,000 of your Tennessee tax dollars...
In effect, Tennessee tax dollars were funneled from TNECD, subsidizing the Right Way Marketing political telemarketing operations for the benefit of not only Tennessee Republican politicians/owners Timothy Hill and TNGA Rep. Matthew Hill, but other noteable members of the Tennessee General Assembly including the 2010 Tennessee Republican gubernatorial primary candidate and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, Reps. Glen Casada and Debra Maggart, and others as partisan political customers of Right Way Marketing.
The Hill brothers also received an additional $10,000 "forgivable loan" during April 2010 from the Sullivan County Industrial Board "NETWORKS" headed up by former TNGA House Rep. Richard Veneable for Right Way Marketing by "creating new jobs in Sullivan County" --- and effectively killing Right Way Marketing jobs located in Johnson City (all of that being call center employes training subsized with a generous supply of Tennessee tax dollars) --- with their transferring Right Way Marketing operations to Blountville.
"Right Way Marketing relocated to old Carolina Pottery site, expects to hire 50 more workers"
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9022479
Timothy Hill later announced the September 2010 layoff of the newer Blountville employees at Right Way Marketing, reportedly insisting the second round of Right Way Marketing employee layoffs (at the Blountville location) "was necessary after a client suspended its calling center needs" --- this axing of the hired help occured following both his own doomed 3rd House District primary election campaign for the Tennessee House of Representatives and the overwhelming state wide voters' rejection of Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey's failed 2010 Tennessee Republican gubernatorial primary election campaign.
"Development officials not giving up on Right Way yet"
http://timesnews.net/article.php?id=9026186
The news media in northeast Tennessee has been strangely silent as to if the two 2012 Tennessee 3rd and 7th House District candidates (i.e.: Rep. Matthew Hill and his brother Timothy Hill) actually bothered to pay back the $10,000 dollar loan plus interest to the Sullivan County taxpayers.
The Amended 2010 3rd Quarter for Timothy Hill report later submitted to the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance on January 25, 2011 shows that the campaign treasury of Tennessee 3rd House District candidate had already received a $1,500 self-endorsed loan from Timothy Hill and had an outstanding itemized obiligation of $14,000 under date of July 30, 2010 to Majority Strategies of Ponte Verda Beach, Florida.
The 2010 4th Quarter for Timothy Hill report filed by candidate Timothy Hill (also submitted on January 25, 2011) shows a beginning campaign account balance of $865.33, both of Hill's campaign account with an additional $14,000 self-endorsed loan under date of November 1, 2010 from Timothy Hill (for a total of $15,500 debt that the candidate's campaign owed to Timothy Hill) and the retirement of the outstanding itemized campaign obiligation of $14,000 to Majority Strategies.
Additionally, the Amended 2012 Early Year End Supplemental (2011) for Timothy Hill report (submitted by the candidate later on February 1, 2012) is particularly informative shows a beginning campaign account balance of $865.33, a flurry of campaign donations to Timothy Hill's campaign during November and December of 2011 as Hill received only one earlier 2011 campaign donation and that amount of $50.00 dollars is dated October 18, 2011 (bringing his period total receipts of $17,956.00), and an ending balance of $18,821.33 --- all without removing the $15,500 Timothy Hill campaign debt owed to Timothy Hill himself.
Amended 2010 3rd Quarter for TIMOTHY HILL submitted on 01/25/2011
https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp-app/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=35952
2010 4th Quarter for TIMOTHY HILL submitted on 01/25/2011
https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp-app/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=35953
Amended 2012 Early Year End Supplemental (2011) for TIMOTHY HILL submitted on 02/01/2012
https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp-app/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=38823
Timothy Hill lost his 2010 Republican Primary election to the now TNGA House 3rd Distric Rep. Scotty Campbell of Mountain City. The 3rd House District was formerly represented within the Tennessee General Assembly by Jason Mumpower and now covers areas of Sullivan, Johnson, and Carter Counties in Northeast Tennessee.