North Carolina's State Auditor, Beth Wood, has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge for the misuse of a state vehicle for personal appointments, as announced by Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman on Tuesday.
The indictment accuses Wood of using the public vehicle for private purposes, following an eight-month investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation.
Earlier this year, Wood pleaded guilty to a separate misdemeanor related to a crash involving her state vehicle. She recently announced that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024, after serving more than a decade in the role.
In response to the indictment, Wood issued a statement on Tuesday, asserting that she had reimbursed the state for the personal use of the car. "I purposely overpaid for my commuting miles to make certain it covered any personal use over and above commuting," she stated. Expressing her disappointment over the criminal charges, she added, "I am very disappointed that criminal charges were brought against me."
The indictment alleges that Wood, in 2021 and 2022, utilized the state-owned vehicle assigned to her for personal appointments, including hair and dental visits, and trips to shopping centers and spa locations, where she was not engaged in her official capacity.
Wood, a Democrat, was first elected as auditor in 2008. In March, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of a December 2022 crash, where she drove her state-owned vehicle into a parked car. The incident, which resulted in no injuries, happened after Wood left a holiday party in downtown Raleigh. She had previously apologized for the accident and her conduct, acknowledging that she had made a "grave mistake."
Wood is a certified public accountant who served in the State Auditor's Office for nearly a decade before defeating incumbent Auditor Les Merritt in the 2008 election.
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