North Carolina State Treasurer Folwell is under investigation for vehicle misuse

RALEIGH, NC — Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina are investigating the possible improper use of state vehicles by North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell, according to a local prosecutor and records.

As WRAL-TV reported Wednesday, state investigators launched an investigation in March after the U.S. Department of Administration’s Fleet Management Division conducted a spot check of at least three 2022 state vehicles operated by Folwell.

These vehicles were used to target doctor’s offices, a country club, fast-food restaurants, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and Republican Party offices, the station reported, citing a search warrant application filed last week in Wake County.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate Folwell’s use of state vehicles.

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“An investigation is currently underway based on a report we are supposed to receive after a routine audit by the administration,” Freeman said. She declined to comment further.

Folwell, a Republican who has served as treasurer since 2017, has not been charged with any crime. State vehicles may only be used for state purposes or approved work trips.

Folwell told WRAL-TV he had not seen any search warrants, but he was confident he was following state guidelines and that the trips would be considered authorized use of a state vehicle. “But I’m not perfect,” he said.

“I have always tried to use state resources to best fulfill my duties as state treasurer, in the most efficient way possible,” said Folwell, who is not running for re-election in the fall. He unsuccessfully ran for governor earlier this year.

The investigation comes months after State Auditor Beth Wood resigned following a similar review that led her to plead guilty in Wake County court to two misdemeanors related to misusing a state-provided vehicle for personal activities.

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Wood, a Democrat, received unsupervised probation and paid restitution as part of her guilty plea last December. The investigation began after she drove a state car into a parked vehicle following a Christmas party in December 2022.

Folwell, a certified public accountant, previously served in government as a member of the local school board, a member of the state House of Representatives and head of then-Governor Pat McCrory’s unemployment benefits agency.