SLED investigating fired SC agency chief accused of helping her husband land contract
South Carolina’s top law enforcement agency has launched an investigation into fired State Accident Fund director Amy Cofield and her involvement in her husband landing a $600,000 work contract with her agency, a department spokesman confirmed.
Cofield was fired by Gov. Henry McMaster in February after he became aware of the contract.
Asked to probe the contract and Cofield’s involvement, the state inspector general reported in April that Cofield “tainted” the process. The inspector general said Cofield’s involvement created a conflict of interest, both “organizational and personal.”
Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division, confirmed Monday the agency is investigating Cofield and opened its case on April 23.
The news was first reported by the Post and Courier.
“The Attorney General’s Office requested the investigation,” Crosby told The State by email. “No additional information is available as this is an active investigation.”
Cofield told The State on Tuesday she was not aware of the SLED investigation, but that it should reveal State Accident Fund employee Tommy Windsor and McMaster’s chief of staff, Trey Walker, “have created this facade in retaliation for me reprimanding and demoting Tommy Windsor.”
Cofield has alleged that Windsor, a former McMaster aide and the agency’s current head of government affairs, was the person behind the initial complaint to the governor.
Windsor deferred comment to his attorney, Jay Babb, who would not comment on the ongoing investigation but said the inspector general’s report speaks for itself.
The “desperate and far-fetched allegations to the press” by Cofield, Babb said, are “false and defamatory and we believe the ongoing investigation will shed light on the truth with that.”
Also reached Tuesday, Walker deferred comment to Brian Symmes, spokesman for the Governor’s Office, who said Cofield’s claim is an “absolutely ridiculous claim that has no basis in reality.”
Cofield is accused of involving herself in the procurement process that landed her husband a contract with the State Accident Fund. Cofield has defended her actions, saying did not nothing wrong and removed herself from the hiring process.
She reiterated that defense on Monday, telling The State that nothing in the inspector general’s report against her other than “I did not put the conflict in writing to the Ethics Dept even though we did with SFAA,” she said, referring to the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, which oversees procurement for state agencies.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 12:19 PM with the headline "SLED investigating fired SC agency chief accused of helping her husband land contract."
