Horry department turnover has led to lawsuits. Here’s what internal emails show
Major turnover last year within the leadership of an Horry County department that has led to multiple lawsuits came amid interoffice drama and suspicions of corruption in the county.
The county pushed out the director, Kimberly Massie, and deputy director, Jessica Williams, of its procurement department on June 13, 2024, after an employee complaint led to a full departmental human resources investigation, internal emails shared with The Sun News show. Another high-ranking official within the unit, Lauren DeMasi, was pressured to resign less than a week later.
DeMasi and Williams have since filed lawsuits against the county alleging wrongful discharge, defamation and civil conspiracy. DeMasi’s suit also alleged violation of the S.C. Whistleblower Act, as she was actively investigating suspicious spending within various county departments.
The procurement department is responsible for procuring or supervising the procurement of all supplies, services and construction needed by the county in a manner meant to maximize the purchasing value of public funds.
What did HR investigation find?
The HR investigation was initiated about June 10, 2024, after a procurement employee, Tara Chestnut-Smith, issued a complaint alleging leadership was targeting and belittling her, acting unprofessionally, and intentionally wasting time and resources, internal emails show.
Chestnut-Smith did not respond to a Sun News request for comment.
After the HR team interviewed procurement employees, it issued an investigative report substantiating claims of targeting, bullying and unprofessionalism, while finding the claim of wasting county time and resources unsubstantiated.
Staff members supported claims that managers were commenting during meetings about county officials being corrupt or unethical, according to the investigation, and Massie confirmed she had said, “I know where all the dead bodies are” to her team multiple times.
Massie did not respond to a Sun News request for comment.
The investigation also found Williams had been taking care of two kittens in her office for a couple weeks without proper permissions, and an employee was told to work from home, also without permission from an assistant county administrator.
In an email attachment preceding the investigation, Smith-Chestnut had detailed how Williams would host “F-Off Fridays,” which were allegedly meetings where employees would just sit in a room eating ice cream without discussing work. Williams would instruct her team to move their computer mouses to avoid being logged out due to inactivity, she alleged.
Employees told the HR investigators that “F-Off Friday” was now referred to as “Fun on Friday” and consisted of playing games, eating ice cream and decompressing, sometimes in conjunction with training, according to the report.
Connection to Myrtle Beach airport
Massie and Williams were terminated or allowed to resign a couple days after HR investigators interviewed procurement employees, internal emails show.
DeMasi resigned under threat of termination about a week later, amid a purported conflict with Judi Olmstead, director of the county-owned Myrtle Beach International Airport, according to internal emails. DeMasi had been serving as a liaison between the procurement department and airport, working at the airport facility once per week. But on the day Massie and Williams were pushed out, Olmstead asked then-Assistant County Administrator Barry Spivey if those visits could cease.
“Given the conversation and comments by Lauren (DeMasi) today, may I request that she stay in the Procurement Department for the time being?,” she wrote.
DeMasi’s and Williams’ lawsuits both mention that procurement leadership had been discussing alleged ongoing “corruption” in the airport’s procurement practices at the time, specifically with regard to purchasing a passenger boarding bridge from a sole source without seeking a competitive bidding process, as common practice dictated.
Tammy Stevens, the county’s new procurement director, delegated procurement authority earlier this year to Olmstead for airport-related purchases and contracts that cost less than $500,000. She similarly delegated procurement authority to assistant county administrators based on the departments each oversees.
County spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov, citing the ongoing lawsuits, declined to answer any questions related to this story, including: Was the airport allowed to purchase the passenger boarding bridge without a bid? Is so, why, at what cost, and from what vendor? Why was Olmstead delegated procurement authority? When did Stevens, who was initially interim director, become full-time procurement director? Was the job posted and interviews conducted prior to her being appointed?
Suspicious county purchases
Moskov also declined to answer whether procurement investigations into improper spending within various county departments, as alleged within the lawsuits, continued after the leadership turnover, and if anyone faced discipline as a result.
Internal emails show DeMasi was overseeing audits of “red flag” purchases within the county solicitor’s office and various magistrates offices at the time she was pushed to resign.
Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told The Sun News his office was questioned about certain boxes of items sent to employee’s addresses, but those purchases were all found to be legitimate work-related items for drug treatment court. They were delivered to employee’s addresses because the office was closed at the time delivery was scheduled, and all items were brought into the office within 48 hours, according to Richardson.
A spreadsheet attached to an email describing the office’s “concerning” purchases appears to match up with the items Richardson described.
A lengthy list of suspicious purchases within magistrates offices, also included as an email attachment, describes “luxury” items including a monthly Apple TV subscription, edible arrangements sent to a judge’s family member and thousands of dollars worth of golf apparel.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM.
