Former employee sues Trailer Specialists for slander, fraud, wrongful firing

CHARLESTON -- A former employee is suing Trailer Specialists and an individual for slander, fraud and wrongful termination.

Tammy Jordan was a bookkeeper for Trailer Specialists and Frank Boggess and faithfully worked for nearly four years, according to a complaint filed March 24 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Over a period of time, Jordan realized Boggess was using "tens of thousands of dollars in corporate funds to pay for the construction of his personal residence and challenged him about this practice," according to the suit.

Jordan claims she also challenged him about using corporate funds to pay a salary to his wife rather than himself to avoid loss of Social Security income for himself when his wife did not perform any services to the corporation as an employee. She claims she also raised questions about a fraudulent billing of her auto insurance company for a new hood to repair her vehicle, when in fact no hood was purchased by Boggess.

Soon after she began raising questions, Jordan claims Boggess told her that her position was being eliminated.

Jordan claims later she learned her position had not been eliminated and that she had been replaced and that Boggess had "slandered her by making false claims to customers and others that she had been fired because she had stolen money from the corporation."

Jordan is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Michael D. Weikle.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib Jr.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 10-C-563