Former Spring Lake finance director charged with embezzling more than $500K from the town
Spring Lake’s previous finance director was arrested Friday by federal authorities and charged with embezzlement, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Gay Cameron Tucker, 63, of Fayetteville, is accused of embezzling a lot more than $500,000 from Spring Lake for the duration of her tenure as finance director and accounting technician for the town, in accordance to a assertion produced by the U.S. Legal professional for the Eastern District of North Carolina. An indictment also accuses her of carrying out the embezzlement by fraudulent checks that contains forged signatures of the mayor and city manager, the statement claimed.
Price tag TO People: How substantially has Spring Lake’s economical mishandling charge its citizens?
U.S. Lawyer Michael Easley reported in the assertion that metropolis govt officers are entrusted to invest taxpayer resources on community demands — not their own.
“Our prosecutors and law enforcement partners are fully commited to vigorously investigating all allegations of public corruption,” he claimed.
Tucker is charged with 1 count of embezzlement from a regional government obtaining federal cash, four counts of financial institution fraud, and two counts of aggravated id theft.
Qualifications: NC auditor’s report on Spring Lake: Evidence of economic wrongdoing, like embezzlement
A 56-site investigation report that was introduced by State Auditor Beth Wood in March discovered that the town’s former accounting technician, who also served as Spring Lake’s finance director for far more than a 12 months, applied at least $430,112 of the town’s dollars for particular use. The report did not identify the technician, but said in the footnotes that she served as the town’s finance director from March 2020 to April 2021 and as interim finance director from March 2020 to September 2020.
Subscribe currently to assist neighborhood journalism and get pleasure from endless digital accessibility together with videos, apps, sports information, and additional. Unique introductory offer you for new subscribers only.
Minutes of the town Board of Aldermen’s conferences demonstrate that Tucker served as finance director in February 2021 and was appointed interim finance director in March 2020.
The report advised that the Spring Lake Board of Aldermen think about having authorized motion against the previous accounting technician. It accused the technician of composing 72 checks for her particular use.
HOW THEY Obtained THERE: ‘We’re paying out the price’: How Spring Lake’s mishandled funds could direct to condition takeover
The technician wrote 32 checks for a overall of much more than $16,000 that have been payable to Bragg Mutual Federal Credit history Union and deposited into her individual bank account there, according to the report.
The report said 27 checks totaling a lot more than $151,000 ended up created out as payable to the technician, with 24 deposited into her private account and 1 deposited into her husband’s account at the credit score union. 13 checks for a overall of a lot more than $113,000 have been manufactured payable to Heritage Location Senior Residing and applied to pay back every month resident bills of the technician’s husband, the report explained.
The FBI is investigating the scenario, according to the assertion. Assistant U.S. Lawyer William M. Gilmore is the prosecutor.
Going Ahead: Spring Lake seems to get back again on track with upcoming year’s funds. Here’s what is in it.
Neighborhood news editor Steve DeVane can be attained at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Former Spring Lake finance manager arrested, billed with embezzlement