RALEIGH, N.C. — A former Republican state representative from Lincoln County who once helped write the North Carolina House budget now faces criminal charges in a long-running investigation of a political nonprofit.
A Wake County grand jury indicted the former lawmaker on two counts of embezzlement and two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Prosecutors allege he helped the executive director of Greater Carolina, who faces similar charges in a separate indictment this week.
The indictment alleges the director raised donations by telling contributors the money would promote pro-business state policy, then spent it for personal benefit on items such as meals, drinks, sports tickets and lodging. Prosecutors put the improper spending above $100,000.
Greater Carolina was organized as a 501(c)(4) social welfare group, which does not have to disclose donors. Federal tax law lets such groups lobby, but political activity cannot be their main purpose. The group, started by someone who once worked on his staff, no longer has an online presence.
The organization drew statewide scrutiny after it paid for an April 2024 trip that took North Carolina lawmakers to a Kentucky bourbon distillery, where a hospitality worker later accused the group of arriving intoxicated.
The former lawmaker left the legislature in 2024 to become a lobbyist. In a statement, he denied any wrongdoing, said an independent board controlled the group spending and fundraising, and said he expects to clear his name.
District Attorney Lorrin Freeman of Wake County said in a release that the case is a reminder that social welfare nonprofits cannot be used to get around the state Ethics Act and lobbying rules. Her term ends in December, and District Attorney-elect Wiley Nickel will inherit the case. Earlier, four lobbyists whose clients helped fund the trip were charged under lobbying laws, and three of those cases were dismissed in September after fines and cooperation agreements.
Section: More Asheville NC crime news
Filed under: Asheville NC Public Safety News
