State House of Representatives candidate Kristopher Gore is in more hot water after writing another bad check, this time for hundreds of dollars worth of BBQ for a political fundraiser.
Gore, 26, was hit with a fourth worthless check count Tuesday when he showed up before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke for arraignment on his original three charges.
The most recent charge is for writing a bad check to Collins River BBQ in the amount of $625. That count joins the original three charges stemming from three bad checks written to Mary Walker and Custom Vinyl. Two of those checks were for campaign signs and one was a charitable donation for Meals on Wheels made during Back to the Strip Night. Walker is not happy with the candidate’s deception.
“He’s a smooth conman,” Walker said regarding the bad checks he passed with her business. “It’s one thing to pass a bad check when it comes to signs, but he wrote a bad one to charity. That just isn’t right.”
Walker is on the hook for just under $15,000 in signs that were ordered by Gore. The signs, Walker said, are large campaign signs, most four feet by eight feet.
“There are hundreds of them,” Walker said. “He has gotten some already but there are some I still have. The thing about it is I’ll have to pay to dispose of the signs so I’m getting hit twice.”
Walker admits she believed Gore when he came passing his checks, claiming to have plenty of money to cover the large debt.
Gore did, in fact, claim collecting over $50,000 during his most recent campaign finance report submitted to the state. Most of the funds he reported getting came through relatives from here, Cookeville, Livingston and Knoxville.
Campaign finance reports are sworn documents meaning Gore could be looking at perjury charges if it is found he intentionally misrepresented his campaign income on the official state document.
His preliminary hearing on his hot check cases, two of which are felony counts, are set for July 29. Gore has referred questions to his attorney, Rob McKinney, who has not returned phone calls from the Standard.Gore charged with another bad check