Dewhurst’s Campaign Manager Under Investigation for Embezzlement

Posted on Jan 16, 2013

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst’s campaign manager Kenneth “Buddy” Barfield is currently under investigation for theft by the Travis County district attorney’s public integrity unit. It is believed that Barfield may have embezzled at least $600,000 from Dewhurst’s campaign accounts over a five-year period.

Barfield has been a longtime adviser for Dewhurst. He managed Dewhurst’s 2010 re-election as well as his losing bid for the United States Senate in the 2012 election. The Dewhurst campaign alleged that Barfield overstated how much cash was on hand in its political accounts, from about $600,000 to nearly $1.3 million. Campaign officials believe that Barfield concealed the theft by falsifying bank deposit slips, vendor invoices, and finance reports so that it appeared the campaign accounts had more cash in them than they actually did.

Barfield has been involved in several risky financial transactions that have led to multiple legal battles over significant funds. Just recently, Barfield failed to pay $506,000 related to the settlement of a legal matter.

After the discrepancies in the bank statements were uncovered, Dewhurst and his aides met with Barfield. Campaign officials say that Barfield offered to repay $600,000 to the campaign committee but never did. At that point, campaign officials contacted the Travis County district attorney. Dewhurst has not spoken publicly about the situation.

People who face criminal charges stemming from embezzlement or employee theft should contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away. For more information, contact Topek & Topek, Attorneys at Law, at (888) 661-5030.