BLYTHEWOOD — Doko Manor is being investigated for missing funds after a cheer coach said the money she paid to reserve the event venue was never applied to her account, according to town officials.
In August, the town was made aware of missing funds by Ashanti Thames, who runs the competitive cheerleading group Palmetto Storm Cheer. Thames estimates she paid close to $10,000 to reserve practice space for her squad at the facility, but interim Town Administrator Ed Driggers said the manor has no record of receiving that money, save for $1,200 in checks made out to the Town of Blythewood directly.
Thames said that’s because the manor’s director, Fred Layman, would accept the payments directly from her in the form of cash or a Cashapp payment.
Screenshots from Ashanti Thames of payments she claims she sent to Fred Layman for use of the manor.
“I have Cashapped this man $3,000, and no one can tell me where it’s at,” Thames said.
Driggers said they are working with Richland County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the amount missing while also conducting an internal review to determine if there are any other financial discrepancies within the manor.
In a text to The Post and Courier, Layman said he did receive the money through Cashapp and that some of that money was paid to the town.
“Obviously, doing $30,000-$80,000 a month in revenue, the $300 a month that the cheering program brought in wasn’t top priority, plus I got cancer,” Layman texted.
Layman said he had his wife bring documents and a check to the manor to “pay for any outstanding balance once we learned the town was making an issue of it.”
Layman’s wife, Michelle Layman, reportedly went to the manor on Sept. 11 with the check in an envelope. According to a police report from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Manor staff asked her to leave with the envelope, but she refused. Surveillance tapes from the manor show that a staff member appears to step in front of a door, blocking her exit.
