Multiple past and present CMS Board members tell WCCB they did not know about Dee Rankin’s federal conviction

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – We are hearing from past and present CMS board members about whether they were aware of current Chair Dee Rankin’s federal conviction before it came out this week.

Current board members Monty Witherspoon, Cynthia Stone, Anna London and Lenora Shipp tell WCCB they did not know. We also asked former board members who voted to make Rankin Vice Chair back in 2023. Lisa Cline, Melissa Easley and Thelma Bailey Byers tell WCCB they did not know.

WCCB News @ Ten anchor Morgan Fogarty asked Rankin on Wednesday if he’d talked with his board members.

Fogarty said, “Have you had conversations with them? Now that it is out and being discussed?” Rankin replied, “I’ve had conversations with some (of) those, if I could ’cause there’s some were just not available. But I had, I have, I’ve had conversations with them, my board members, and also had board members reach out to me and support and continue to support me in my role as Chair, support me in my role as a board member.”

Rankin declined to name the board members who he says support him.

We have not received a response from Stephanie Sneed, Liz Monterrey Duvall, Charlitta Hatch, Shamaiye Haynes, or former member Summer Nunn about whether they knew about Rankin’s conviction before now.