It has been “all quiet” for the past two weeks with regard to Greenville, the scandal ravaged by South Carolina Thornblade Neighborhood – at least in print. But just because we didn’t publish any updates on this sordidly seismic saga – which took over the interior of Palmetto state with a vengeance at the end of last month – not it means that we stopped investigating.
Far from it …
Nor does it mean that the authorities have stopped investigating … despite the apparent low profile of these investigations.
The latest developments?
According to our sources, regional agents from the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) special investigative unit initiated an investigation into allegations of human trafficking connected to alleged sex and prostitution groups linked to certain neighborhood residents.
Wait … human trafficking?
That’s right. And while local law enforcement sources have analyzed this definition (“it’s more prostitution for me, but they call it trafficking,” a source told us) … the investigation is ongoing.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to its website, participates in “more than 120 human trafficking task forces across the country, alongside other federal, tribal, state and local authorities”.
HSI also participates in “federal anti-trafficking coordination teams, together with the Departments of Justice and Labor and the FBI to proactively coordinate and plan federal human trafficking investigations and prosecutions”.
The HSI survey would mark the second federal investigation into activities related to this neighborhood and its prestigious Thornblade Club – which hosts the annual BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament. As we reported exclusively on July 27, 2020, allegations of serious financial irregularities at the club led to an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) – which has broad jurisdictional authority when it comes to “cyber-enabled financial crimes”.
It is not yet clear, however, exactly what the USSS – which is also a division of Homeland Security – is investigating with regard to Thornblade and his club, which are separate entities.
Since the beginning of our Thornblade coverage, we have investigated three separate scandals: 1) allegations of misappropriation involving the neighborhood golf club, 2) allegations of a “prostitution ring” (or “sex chain”) involving several residents of Thornblade, and 3) allegations involving an “athletic team at a government high school near Taylors, SC”, which is said to be in some way linked to the prostitution / sex network charges.
As for the last item, most of the initial speculation revolved around Eastside High School in Taylors, SC – and perhaps at another nearby school in the South Carolina government system. Specifically, we have been told that investigators hope to question a former Eastside athletics trainer about his alleged proximity to some of the “central figures” in this drama that unfolds.
There are also reports of blackmail related to rumors from the prostitution / sex network.
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RELATED || THE THORNBLADE SAGA
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“Trafficking” would obviously imply something much more sinister, however, we are told that in many cases federal authorities press this angle to avoid accusing individuals under 18 years of prostitution.
Is this what is happening in this case? We will have to see how the investigation unfolds …
According to our sources, the allegations revolve around a group of men who call themselves “The Disciples” – although we have been warned that the ongoing investigation is not limited to that group.
“Nothing in this case is going to be what you expect,” said one of our law enforcement sources.
Stay tuned …
Despite criticisms of our coverage, we continue to examine all information that reaches our media in the best possible way. We will continue to provide our readers with the latest information that we can confirm and, once again, we ask anyone with details to share to get in touch through our tip line.
As always, we keep our sources confidential …
-FITSNews
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