Employee fraud and negligent data entry cost NC town $210,000, auditor finds
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MORE THAN $210,000 IN LOST REVENUE, AUDITOR INVESTIGATION INTO MOUNT OLIVE FINDS
A wide-ranging investigation into the Town of Mount Olive by the office of State Auditor Dave Boliek found that hundreds of water cutoff fees issued to people who failed to pay their utility bills on time last year were improperly voided, leaving water service intact — including for two employees at the town’s water department and a sitting town commissioner.
The investigative report, published by Boliek’s office Thursday, also found that increases to the Eastern North Carolina town’s water and sewer rates that were incorrectly entered into the town’s utility billing system caused Mount Olive to substantially undercharge customers.
Between October 2023 and February 2025, the report found, Mount Olive lost more than $210,000 in revenue because of “negligent data entries.”
The Republican auditor’s office said it began investigating the town’s water department after receiving an allegation that a sitting town commissioner continued receiving water service despite not paying his utility bills, and that water department employees “committed fraud” by failing to pay their own bills and voiding cutoff fees for themselves and others.
After reviewing utility payment history for the mayor and current town commissioners over the course of 2024, the auditor’s office found that one sitting commissioner, who is not identified in the report, had the $100 cutoff fee for not paying a bill on time voided nine times, resulting in a debt of $942 by August 2024.
The auditor’s office says the commissioner was not named “to preserve the objectivity of the report.”
The department’s supervisor was also found to have voided cutoff fees for herself 11 times last year, and for the department’s billing clerk nine times. The supervisor and billing clerk accumulated debts of $1,381 and $920, respectively. Both were suspended in January, paid their utility bills in full in February, and were terminated in March.
In a statement, Boliek said that “proper management at the local level is incredibly important to ensuring resources are not abused and protocol is followed.”
The 29-page report details other allegations and findings, including regarding the town’s municipal airport and how certain expenses are paid for. It contains a response from Interim Town Manager Glenn Holland, who wrote that the town “takes these allegations seriously” and said officials accept all of the report’s findings and recommendations.
— Avi Bajpai
JACKSON LEADS MULTISTATE CRACKDOWN ON ROBOCALLS
Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced the latest action in a multistate effort to crack down on robocalls, an issue he identified as a top priority while running for office last year.
The initiative, named Operation Robocall Roundup, was launched by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, a group of 51 attorneys general that came together in 2022 to take action against companies accused of being responsible for high volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocalls. The task force is led by Jackson, a Democrat, and two Republicans: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Jackson’s office said it was sending notice letters on behalf of the task force to 37 voice service providers that have disregarded rules and registration requirements laid out by the Federal Communications Commission, and are “allowing robocallers onto their phone networks and then passing their calls on to other downstream providers until they reach North Carolinians’ phones.”
The task force is also sending letters to 99 of those “downstream providers” that accept call traffic from the 37 companies in question, Jackson’s office said.
“North Carolinians are getting bombarded with millions of invasive robocalls every day, and these communication companies are not following the rules to protect us,” Jackson said in a statement. “We are giving these companies three weeks to start following the rules so we can shield people from these annoying and illegal robocalls.”
North Carolina is among the top five states in the country for robocalls and text scams per capita, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The state was hit by 2.3 billion robocalls last year, and nearly 1.3 billion robocalls so far this year, including more than 200 million in June alone, Jackson’s office said.
— Avi Bajpai
REPORT: CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION TO REPUBLICAN SUPREME COURT CANDIDATE MAY VIOLATE STATE LAW
A lobbyist’s $6,800 campaign donation to Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Republican candidate for North Carolina Supreme Court, may run afoul of state law, according to a report from NC Newsline.
Stevens, a longtime member of the state House from Surry County, reported receiving a maxed-out campaign contribution from former House Speaker Harold Brubaker — who is also a registered lobbyist.
State law says that lobbyists are prohibited from donating to sitting lawmakers while the legislature is in session. Finance reports show Brubaker’s donation being made on June 23 — while the General Assembly was in session.
Asked whether the contribution violates state law, a spokesperson for the State Board of Elections told The News & Observer that the agency does not comment on specific transactions until completing an examination of a report.
Stevens told NC Newsline she was aware that “lobbyists can’t give to members during session” but said Brubaker “did not give to me as a member. He gave to me as a judicial candidate.”
Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr told The N&O that funding issues such as this one are one of the “invariable conflicts that crop up when judicial candidates have to raise money,” because North Carolina elects its judges, instead of appointing them.
— Kyle Ingram
Today’s newsletter was by Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. Check your inbox Sunday for more #ncpol.
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