Petula Burks began working for the city of Richmond in early 2022 and remained in her position as top city spokesperson for more than two years, despite having access to her city-issued credit card revoked in 2023 and being accused of mishandling public records.
Among other issues are payments made to a former associate of hers, Cameus Chicoye, who has run various media companies that offer promotional services to localities.
As of Aug. 6, the city owes Play 4 Production, a company Chicoye registered in Virginia, $31,200 for work done in May and June, according to a city spokesperson. Another city representative said that “[q]ualified vendors are welcome to participate in the City's procurement process” when asked if Chicoye would be contracted in the future.
During a Wednesday press conference at City Hall, Mayor Levar Stoney addressed purchase card issues — which went beyond Burks.
The mayor reiterated points he previously made in a discussion with VPM News, including that “99% of the 300-plus employees who have access to a p-card — a purchasing card — are in good standing.”
Earlier in August and again Wednesday, he said just a small number of people violated protocol.
“You won't ever catch me saying that any program at any government entity — whether federal, state or local, is perfect,” Stoney said, adding that the latest city budget includes funds for four new procurement department employees. “Our procurement office has been working diligently to monitor this program and ensure everyone is compliant with our policies, while also ensuring that the city of Richmond is able to be an effective and efficient government.”
When Burks resigned on July 1, Chief Administrative Office Lincoln Saunders sent an email wishing her well. In part, it read: Burks “has decided to pursue other opportunities and resigned. We are grateful for all the incredible work she has done, from standing up a new Office of Strategic Communication and Civic Engagement from the ground up to helping our city embrace and celebrate its diverse culture. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
VPM News asked for city representatives to detail her achievements, but did not receive a response.
A message left at a number previously associated with Burks also was not returned.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has reported that Burks’ city-issued credit card was disabled last year over payment issues. She used the card 130 times, spending more than $270,000 between January and July 2023, according to the paper. At the time, she told RTD her job entailed setting up events quickly, which accounted for the card’s usage.
No explanation was offered about how those duties were fulfilled for the year after her use of the card was revoked.
The former city spokesperson was also named in a whistleblower lawsuit earlier this year, when a former employee alleged she was directed to withhold information connected to public records requests.
The tumult that was a part of Burks’ tenure in Richmond was also evident in her previous jobs.
The road to Richmond
Burks’ LinkedIn profile lists a dozen jobs stretching back to the late ’90s.
Apart from serving as “PIO Specialist/Public Affairs Officer” for 8 years in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the profile indicates her positions lasted about 2 years or less. Her tenure in Richmond fits that pattern.
Burks served two stints with Miami Gardens — a city just north of Miami — the second ending in October 2020. The Augusta (Georgia) Press first reported in May 2021 that during her time in Florida, questions were raised over the use of a city-issued credit card — including charges made at a bar.
VPM News obtained emails between Burks and a member of Miami Gardens’ finance department through a public records request. Among the purchase card charges the former Richmond spokesperson submitted were April 2020 payments to LC Studios, a company registered to Chicoye, that totaled $5,600.
LC Studios remains an active, registered limited liability company linked to Chicoye and another individual, according to Florida's Division of Corporations.
These are among the earliest payments connecting Burks and her one-time associate, who would be contracted by three localities where she worked between 2020 and 2024. A previous report by a Florida paper ties Burks to Chicoye through “next-level insane” videos produced for the Fort Lauderdale Police in 2013 and 2014.
An additional payment from Miami Gardens to LC Studios was made in May 2020 for $2,000, according to the emails. And in June 2020, Miami Gardens’ payments to Chicoye’s company totaled $8,750.
Other p-card documents that Burks submitted to the Miami Gardens department didn’t have a vendor name or number associated with them, and have “unknown” or “lost receipt” written in the corner.
In Florida, Burks registered more than a dozen companies for things as dissimilar as an outdoor summer festival and several that appear to be media consulting businesses — including The Celeste Media Group, The Petula Burks Agency and The Kap Agency. Burks and Chicoye registered In the Name of Grace - Grace's Love Corporation in 2015.
Moving north to Georgia
In September 2020, she moved to a position in Georgia with Augusta-Richmond County, where Burks worked for Mayor Hardie Davis’ administration.
Her new job dropped her salary from $120,000 to $63,000, according to Burks’ Augusta personnel file, which VPM News obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Davis initially brought Burks on as a consultant to help review chief of staff candidates, though she eventually took the job herself. For the search, Burks was paid $5,500 — which she received through a PayPal account connected to Davis’ city-issued credit card.
Earlier this year, a Georgia court ordered Davis to pay $16,900 after it found him guilty of ethics violations, including the inaccurate tracking of campaign credit card expenditures.
While in Augusta, Burks and Davis’ office were at odds with local media over open records — recalling recent issues in Richmond. Because of the dustup, the city retained an Atlanta law firm and spent more than $21,000 on its services.
The Augusta mayor, who later had a position at Georgia Tech rescinded over separate ethics concerns, collaborated with Burks as his chief of staff on a variety of initiatives — including work with LC Studios, the video production company run by Chicoye.
Richmond and Play 4 Production
In Virginia, Chicoye registered Play 4 Production with the State Corporation Commission during December 2022. The company produced videos for several Richmond departments, including the Richmond Fire Department.
After leaving her post, Burks told WTVR that the “first thing that must be cleared up is there is no business relationship between myself and the named vendor. Many moons ago, we thought about creating a non-profit and completed the incorporation paperwork. The entity was dissolved a year later.”
Chicoye could not be reached for comment, but refers to himself as “South Florida's go-to government videographer.” Play 4 Production’s address on the SCC paperwork was listed as a Willow Lawn office space.
The two are connected on Facebook, and Burks has previously posted photos of the pair together.
Burks’ exit
When Burks left her Richmond post last month, Connie Clay — who filed the whistleblower lawsuit after being fired earlier this year — hadn’t heard the news.
“What!!!!!! Oh my goodness!” Clay texted a VPM News reporter. She sent the “happy dancer” emoji, and later said she and her legal team were in the process of scheduling a hearing on the city’s demurrer.
The city didn’t respond to a number of questions about Burks leaving the city, including inquiries touching on the future of Clay’s suit, as well as the hiring process that brought the spokesperson to town. A city representative did say Burks received more than $14,000 in severance.
Open-records advocates Paul Goldman and Josh Stanfield filed suit against the city for access to documents related to the Richmond finance department’s meals tax issues while Burks was spokesperson.
Goldman linked Clay’s employment status and the city’s issues adhering to the state’s FOIA law.
“It goes to a culture — what Governor [Douglas] Wilder, when he was running for mayor, called ‘a cesspool of corruption,” Goldman said. “And I'm not talking about any criminality or anything. I'm just talking about a corrupted process … . They don't want to tell you anything; they run the government from a top-down situation.”
