Former North Carolina town’s finance director hit with 4-year prison sentence | North Carolina

(The Center Square) — A former Spring Lake finance director who embezzled more than $500,000 was sentenced to four years in prison this week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle sentenced Gay Cameron Tucker, 64, to two consecutive 24-month sentences on Wednesday for embezzling $567,070 from Spring Lake while serving as finance director and account technician between 2016 and 2021, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley announced.

The sentence followed Tucker’s guilty plea in September to one count of Embezzlement from a Local Government Receiving Federal Funds, and one count of Aggravated Identity Theft.

“Public corruption at any level is a crime that affects all of us and undermines our public institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “This defendant abused her position of trust by using public funds intended for her local community to pay her own personal expenses. Our office will continue to partner with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute allegations of public corruption.”

Tucker wrote checks from the town’s bank accounts for personal use by forging signatures of other town officials, including the mayor and town manager. She wrote the checks to herself to cover personal expenses and deposited them in back accounts she controlled.

North Carolina’s Local Government Commission took over Spring…