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Lincolnton, North Carolina man pleads guilty to embezzling $400,000 from charity to gamble online
Kevin Joe Turner will likely be sentenced to between four and seven years behind bars
A man from Lincolnton, North Carolina has plead guilty to embezzling $400,000 from a charity he served as president for. The stolen funds were used to place bets online.
Kevin Joe Turner, 51, of Lincolnton, will serve between four and seven years in state prison, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.
Turner was given a $10,000 secured bond and charged with one felony count of embezzlement (more than $100,000) last March. An investigation in March of last year determined that only the president and vice president controlled the non-profit’s finances.
Turner is alleged to have used the charity's debit card to place more than $300,000 in online sports bets over roughly six months.
Turner was president of L-Town Charities. One of its primary activities involved the organizing and staffing of concession vendors at concerts and sporting events, with proceeds intended to benefit community programs and charities. It also provided opportunities for parents of children participating in activities, like dance and sports, to raise money to offset the costs.
Vice president, Melanie Turner, 50, was given a $5,000 secured bond and charged with one felony count of embezzlement (less than $100,000). She is unrelated to the co-defendant in this case despite the two sharing the same last name. Melanie Turner has previously plead not guilty.
The board members for the non-profit filed a report with the sheriff’s office after “irregularities” were found in the charity’s bank records. The members also said volunteers and vendors complained about non-payments for fundraising events.
Detective Jon Propst of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office stated that investigators found no evidence any other board members or volunteers were involved in the alleged misconduct.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
