CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bonny Verley Alexander, the former Finance Director of Cherryville, has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $435,000 from the city.
According to court documents, Alexander, 58, embezzled at least $435,294 of Cherryville’s funds between August 2005 and December 2011. She used the money to pay personal expenses, including shopping and travel expenses, by issuing checks from the city to American Express.
Alexander also made weekly payroll payments to herself, which were more than 300% of her authorized net pay from the city. In total, she embezzled approximately $309,594 from the City of Cherryville in this manner.
Additionally, Alexander issued and forged a total of 26 checks from the City of Cherryville totaling approximately $97,000 to pay off personal charges on her American Express card.
Alexander’s scheme was uncovered as part of a joint federal and state investigation into misappropriated city funds.
Another former Cherryville employee, Jennifer Neal Hoyle, has also been charged with embezzling over $92,900 from the city. Hoyle, 34, has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of federal program fraud for embezzling approximately $92,922 from the City of Cherryville.
Hoyle was responsible for the collection and posting of utility payments made by Cherryville utilities customers. She would accept cash payments from customers, issue paper receipts, and then delete the transaction using her supervisory override privileges.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Gaston County Police Department.
Alexander and Hoyle are scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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