RALEIGH – Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina are investigating the possible improper use of state vehicles by State Treasurer Dale Folwell, according to a local prosecutor and records.
State investigators launched an investigation in March after a spot check by the U.S. Department of Administration’s Fleet Management Division uncovered some trips dating back to 2022, WRAL-TV reported June 19.
At least three state vehicles driven by Folwell drove to doctor’s offices, a country club, fast-food restaurants, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and Republican Party offices, WRAL 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.
“As with all cases involving public officials, it is important that the public have confidence that such matters will be properly investigated,” Freeman said in a written statement. “We are at the beginning of a standard review.”
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 he hasn’t seen any search warrants, but he’s confident he’s following state guidelines and that the trips count as authorized use of a state vehicle. “But I’m not perfect,” he said.
“We have provided pages of documentation throughout the course of this review,” Folwell said in a statement released the same evening as the WRAL report. “We look forward to continuing to work (with Motor Fleet Management) to satisfactorily resolve this issue.”
Folwell is not seeking re-election in the fall. Earlier this year, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor.
“As custodian of the state’s coffers, I have done my best to protect taxpayers’ money and use state resources prudently – not abuse them,” Folwell said in an official statement on June 20. Just yesterday, I learned that an investigator from a state agency found it necessary to obtain search warrants to review the use of the state vehicle assigned to me for the many public duties I regularly perform throughout the state. These duties are all scheduled to allow me to perform as many duties as possible during the trips.
“I have tried to follow the published guidelines – including written communications from the NC Department of Administration stating that logbooks are no longer required – and the instructions from our internal CFO regarding the use of state vehicles very closely. I enjoy the demanding workload, which requires a lot of coordination to save time and money, and the accessibility at any time and place in the state. The staff is helping to compile documentation to answer any outstanding questions that may remain after our numerous phone calls and the records we previously submitted to state authorities to conduct the compliance review. I will be able to say more about this once this documentation is compiled.”
During his two terms as treasurer, Folwell criticized the lack of transparency in health care pricing and billing. His office has issued several reports on health care costs in the state, including Folwell’s Clear Pricing Project, a 2023 report on North Carolina hospitals suing patients for medical debt and judgments valued at over $57 million, and most recently a report on North Carolina hospitals massively overcharging patients.
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.
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.
AP Dillon of the North State Journal contributed to this report.
