David Tepper’s company that developed the failed Carolina Panthers venue in Rock Hill has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. There was no criminal intent in the use of $21 million in public money, the South Carolina attorney general’s office said.
Twenty-two months after the investigation began, the attorney general’s office announced that no charges would be filed.
York County sent GT Real Estate — David Tepper’s company that developed the site — road tax money for work on the Mount Gallant road project near Interstate 77 before the project went bankrupt in 2022.
South Carolina prosecutors allege that the wording of a land development agreement allowed the $21 million in project use to be commingled, according to a Sept. 16 letter from the South Carolina attorney general’s office to the state law enforcement agency conducting the investigation.
There is no basis for criminal prosecution because a land development agreement for the project “does not contain explicit language requiring permanent separation of the road tax money,” the letter said.
The letter further states that there is “no evidence that any road tax money was embezzled for personal or other improper use,” according to the letter from Senior Assistant Attorney General Creighton Waters.
The attorney general’s office sent the letter to The Herald Monday night.
A spokesperson for Tepper Sports and Entertainment declined to comment on the decision when contacted by the Charlotte Observer Monday evening.
At one point during bankruptcy negotiations in the second half of 2022, York County claimed the money could only be used for road improvements. That claim was terminated and dropped as part of a bankruptcy deal in late 2022 between the county and GT Real Estate.
GTRE, or GT Real Estate, is the company formed by the Panthers’ owner to oversee what would become the NFL team’s headquarters and training facility.
“While this is certainly an unfortunate situation, the investigation reveals no criminal intent on the part of anyone in the failure of the project and the $21 million in taxpayer dollars for the Mount Gallant Road,” the letter said.
The Attorney General’s letter states that the SLED investigation, conducted for the criminal investigation, showed that the county’s money was spent on legitimate project-related expenses.
The unfinished building was eventually demolished.
The site has failed
The $800 million project failed, leading GT Real Estate to file for bankruptcy in June 2022 after construction was halted several months earlier.
That bankruptcy ended with a settlement in late 2022 after months of negotiations. All claims against the Tepper companies were terminated and dropped as part of the bankruptcy deal, court documents show.
Around the same time as the settlement, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson, York County Chief District Attorney Kevin Brackett, and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked SLED to investigate the transfer and use of government funds to the Tepper Companies.
When the investigation was announced in late 2022, GT Real Estate said in a statement that the money the province paid for the project “was handled in accordance with the terms of those contracts.”
The Panthers returned the $21 million plus interest to York County as part of the bankruptcy settlement, according to the attorney general’s letter and court records. The city of Rock Hill got the 245-acre parcel back and is trying to sell it to developers.
The letter also states that York County and GTRE acted in good faith to reach the bankruptcy settlement.
Charlotte Observer reporter Alex Zietlow contributed to this story.
