RALEIGH, N.C. — Investigators are looking into possible wrongdoing from North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell.
The Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she asked the SBI to look into his use of state vehicles back in March. The allegations involved state vehicles being used for personal use.
Leaders can only use state vehicles for state business or approved commuting.
The North Carolina State Treasurer's Office is assigned 7 cars, and those who drive these cars are supposed to log mileage.
State Treasurer Folwell is from Forsyth County and has served as State Treasurer since 2017.
According to court documents, Folwell wasn’t assigned to any of the cars but drove three of them.
Documents also said he didn’t log miles, and the stops made are suspected of not being official state business.
The Wake County DA requested the SBI get involved after a Motor Fleet Management Compliance Review was completed.
MFM pulled reports from July 2022, November 2022, December 2022 and April 2023.
The review found that Folwell used three state-owned cars to commute to and from work, and for other personal reasons without authorization.
After obtaining a search warrant, items were seized to figure out where Folwell allegedly traveled.
The search warrant said Folwell, who works in Raleigh but lives in Winston-Salem, drove a state-owned car to his home which MFM says isn’t allowed unless approved by the Secretary of Administration.
He also allegedly drove to church, the dentist office, country club, a shopping center, and other destinations across the state.
That includes the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, Greenville, Boone, Wilmington, and other places.
The report said there was no explanation of official state business found for these trips, and that a state issued fuel card was used.
“State law requires that evidence uncovered during a routine audit which may amount to the misuse of state property be reported to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation," Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman said in a statement to WFMY News 2. "When this occurs, it is important that the SBI exercise due diligence in determining whether there has in fact been misappropriation of state resources. As is customary upon receipt of this information from an agency, the State Bureau of Investigation is conducting at my request an investigation into the use of state vehicles by the State Treasurer. As with all cases involving public officials, it is important that the public be able to trust that these sorts of matters are appropriately scrutinized. We are at the beginning of this process.”
On Thursday, Folwell gave the following statement to WFMY News 2 on the matter:
"As keeper of the public purse, I have done my best to safeguard taxpayer money and to prudently use — not abuse — state resources. I learned just yesterday that a state agency investigator believed it necessary to obtain search warrants to look into use of my assigned state vehicle for the many public functions I routinely perform throughout the state, all of which are purposefully planned to accomplish the maximum job duties possible during the trips. I have tried to be very careful in following published guidance — including written communications from the N.C. Department of Administration stating that mileage logs were no longer necessary — and the instructions of our internal chief financial officer regarding the use of state vehicles. I enjoy the demanding workload, which involves much coordination to save time and money, and being accessible anytime and anywhere in the state. Staff is assisting in compiling documentation to fully answer any outstanding questions that might remain after our numerous phone calls and the records we previously submitted to the state agencies conducting the compliance audit. Once that documentation is compiled, I will have more to say."
North Carolina general Statutes § 14-247 states that use of a State-owned vehicle "for any private purpose whatsoever" is a misdemeanor.
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