Spring Lake’s former finance director was arrested Friday by federal authorities and charged with embezzlement, financial institution fraud and aggravated id theft.
Homosexual Cameron Tucker, 63, of Fayetteville, is accused of embezzling greater than $500,000 from Spring Lake throughout her tenure as finance director and accounting technician for the city, in accordance with a press release launched by the U.S. Lawyer for the Japanese District of North Carolina. An indictment additionally accuses her of finishing up the embezzlement by means of fraudulent checks containing cast signatures of the mayor and city supervisor, the assertion stated.
COST TO RESIDENTS: How much has Spring Lake’s financial mishandling cost its residents?
U.S. Lawyer Michael Easley stated within the assertion that metropolis authorities officers are entrusted to spend taxpayer funds on public wants — not their very own.
“Our prosecutors and regulation enforcement companions are dedicated to vigorously investigating all allegations of public corruption,” he stated.
Tucker is charged with one depend of embezzlement from an area authorities receiving federal funds, 4 counts of financial institution fraud, and two counts of aggravated id theft.
BACKGROUND: NC auditor’s report on Spring Lake: Evidence of financial wrongdoing, including embezzlement
A 56-page investigation report that was launched by State Auditor Beth Wooden in March discovered that the city’s former accounting technician, who additionally served as Spring Lake’s finance director for greater than a yr, used no less than $430,112 of the city’s cash for private use. The report didn’t identify the technician, however stated within the footnotes that she served because the city’s finance director from March 2020 to April 2021 and as interim finance director from March 2020 to September 2020.
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Minutes of the city Board of Aldermen’s conferences present that Tucker served as finance director in February 2021 and was appointed interim finance director in March 2020.
The report really useful that the Spring Lake Board of Aldermen contemplate taking authorized motion in opposition to the previous accounting technician. It accused the technician of writing 72 checks for her private use.
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The technician wrote 32 checks for a complete of greater than $16,000 that had been payable to Bragg Mutual Federal Credit score Union and deposited into her private checking account there, in accordance with the report.
The report stated 27 checks totaling greater than $151,000 had been made out as payable to the technician, with 24 deposited into her private account and one deposited into her husband’s account on the credit score union. 13 checks for a complete of greater than $113,000 had been made payable to Heritage Place Senior Residing and used to pay month-to-month resident payments of the technician’s husband, the report stated.
The FBI is investigating the case, in accordance with the assertion. Assistant U.S. Lawyer William M. Gilmore is the prosecutor.
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Native information editor Steve DeVane will be reached at [email protected].
This text initially appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Former Spring Lake finance manager arrested, charged with embezzlement
