Duck Dynasty creators under investigation for fraud, put on leave of absence

Husband and wife duo Scott Gurney and Deirdre Gurney, founders of the production company that created Duck Dynasty, have been placed on a leave of absence as the company undergoes an internal fraud investigation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gurney Productions employees were informed on Monday that Scott and Deirdre (seen with Duck Dynasty star Korie Robertson in the photo above) have been “placed on a short, temporary leave of absence” and are “no longer responsible for day-to-day operations of the company.” The site reports that the investigation centers around “potential billing irregularities associated with Gurney programs.”

Here is the statement released by a representative for Gurney Productions:

The board of Gurney Productions is currently in discussion with Scott and Deirdre Gurney about future arrangements with them. Craig Armstrong has been appointed interim CEO of Gurney Productions. Craig is an Emmy award-winning producer whose credits include King of the Nerds for TBS, CBS’s Survivor, and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Craig, along with his producing partner Rick Ringbakk, is co-founder and co-CEO of 5×5 Media, which will continue to operate as before.

In addition to the statement, The Hollywood Reporter also shared this internal memo to Gurney Productions staff issued by interim CEO Craig Armstrong:

As most of you have heard, the board that oversees Gurney Productions has placed Scott and Deirdre on a short, temporary leave of absence. Due to the nature of this leave of absence, we can not share all the specific details. What I can tell you is that Gurney Productions is a very important part of the ITV family and we are committed to help keep things running smoothly until the situation with Scott and Deirdre is resolved. There are several items we need to look into over the next couple of days so we may be asking some of you to sit down with me and legal counsel to answer some questions. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Obviously, this is a little out of the ordinary and you may be tempted to start inquiring and drawing conclusions for yourselves, but I strongly recommend that you do not do so and direct any questions to ITV management.

So what does this mean for all of you? You should continue to operate “business as usual” but will be functioning under a new management team. Starting immediately, Scott and Deirdre are no longer responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company. For the short-term, the Company will be overseen by Craig Armstrong who will be your interim CEO & Chris Valentini, ITV America COO. All questions, decisions and actions now come under the jurisdiction of Craig and Chris. I do want to remind you that it new management is in place immediately and all discussions around Gurney business must be directed to new management. As of today Scott and Deirdre no longer have legal oversight of Gurney Productions.

I do want to remind everyone that it is unlawful to circumvent the new management team or discuss internal operations with Scott and Deirdre. We will have a transition team stationed in LA and in the Louisiana office to assist with the changeover and to support all of you during the next few weeks. Attached please find the contact list noting phone numbers and email addresses as well as the org chart.

All this week we will be meeting with company personnel to ensure the continuation of the existing series currently in production and to get to know each one of you and a little bit about what you do here. If you have any questions please feel free to meet with me and anyone from the HR team and we should be able to answer any questions you may have.

We understand this is a lot to take in and certainly not an easy message for us to deliver but we ask that you keep an open mind. We would appreciate your help and cooperation to facilitate a smooth and seamless transition and please know that it is important for us to hear your thoughts and ideas to make this a great place to work.

Best,
Craig

It’s important to note that no charges have been filed.

Deirdre and Scott have been married for more than 13 years and have two children together. They once co-hosted and co-produced the Spike TV reality adventure series Hotlines together back in 2003.

The Gurney Productions internal investigation comes not long after it was announced this will be the final season of Duck Dynasty.