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State News

Former State Rep. Rodney Moore And His Campaign Treasurer Indicted In Campaign Finance Probe

Phyllis Coley @phyllis_coley

Raleigh, NC – A Mecklenburg County grand jury on Monday indicted former state Rep. Rodney Moore of Charlotte on nine felony charges in connection with the filing of false campaign finance disclosure reports from 2011 to 2015.

According to the indictments, Moore knowingly certified under oath that false campaign finance reports were true, a violation of N.C.G.S. § 163A-1449. Each count is a Class I felony.

The grand jury also indicted Moore’s treasurer, Tammy Neal, on one count of common law obstruction of justice, also a felony. According to the indictment, Neal, while serving as treasurer for the Committee to Elect Rodney W. Moore, willfully submitted fraudulent documents purporting to be bank records to the State Board of Elections.

“We are grateful to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office for its work on this case, as we are to all prosecutors who take election matters seriously,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, State Board executive director. “Agency audits of campaign disclosures detect those who try to use their campaign accounts as personal piggy banks. We hope these prosecutions highlight the importance of accurate campaign finance disclosure. Voters have a right to know how candidates are raising and spending campaign cash.”

The State Board initiated an investigation in 2017 after an audit of Moore’s reports turned up irregularities in the campaign’s reporting of contributions and expenditures. The State Board subpoenaed the Moore committee’s bank records after repeated attempts to get them voluntarily from Moore were unsuccessful.

In a meeting in October, the then-State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement voted unanimously, 9-0, to refer the Moore and Neal cases to the Mecklenburg County district attorney for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The State Board vote came after a presentation from Executive Director Strach, which detailed the findings of the State Board’s investigation into Moore’s campaign reporting.

Among the significant findings:

  • The Moore committee did not disclose more than $141,000 in receipts and expenditures between 2010 and 2017.
  • The committee failed to disclose more than $25,000 in cash withdrawals and cash back from purchases.
  • The committee submitted altered bank records in response to questions from State Board auditors.