Payments to Huntsville Electric Board member’s consulting firm connected to suspended Jefferson County probate judge
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) — An investigation is detailing payments made from the office of a suspended Jefferson County probate judge to a Huntsville Utility Electric board member’s consulting firm.
An investigation from our sister station uncovered Payments Judge Yashiba Blanchard made to Greene Consulting Firm LLC, owned by Samuel Greene.
Greene, the firm’s owner, was appointed to the Huntsville Utilities Electric Board in June.
Blanchard has been suspended pending investigation since May following a complaint from the Judicial Inquiry Commission. The complaint includes dozens of allegations against Blanchard, including running the Probate Court in an incompetent and unprofessional manner and routinely targeting attorneys and staff.
The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts confirmed to our sister station that her office is now the target of an audit.
Financial records obtained by a sister station show Blanchard’s office paid Greene Consulting Firm LLC, of Huntsville, upwards of $461,000 over nine months. The firm was hired to provide election-related services, including voter education, poll worker training, and election communications.
The records show approximately $124,000 of those payments were made after the firm’s contract appeared to have been termindated. One contract was signed Jan. 5, 2026, but was later “voided terminated” 8 days later. But records show Greene Consulting was still paid $124,000 less than a month later for “first-quarter consulting services” and “executive dashboard summary.”
Our sister station compared these contracts to similar payments prior to Judge Blanchard’s tenure. Under the “professional services” category, which in Blanchard’s records includes radio advertising, PR consulting, and elections consulting, totaled $755,965 in Birmingham over 5.3 years, or about $11,800 per month. Under Blanchard, CBG Strategies and Greene Consulting alone averaged approximately $45,700 per month, nearly four times that rate, before adding the broadcast advertising vendors.
The owner of Greene Consulting Firm has not been charged with any crime and has not been accused of wrongdoing. The investigation found only that the firm received a large sum of money from Blanchard’s office, including payments made after the contract appeared to be voided.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, Greene is listed as the principal owner of multiple businesses in Huntsville with multiple addresses. We, and our sister station, attempted to reach Greene for comment but did not hear back.
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