Vance County residents now have more answers in an embezzlement case that dates back to July of 2014.
Christa Harris Reavis pleaded guilty late Wednesday afternoon to one count of embezzlement by a government employee in excess of $100,000, a Class C Felony. As a part of her plea, Harris was ordered to pay $20,000.00 to the Vance County Clerk of Superior Court within the next two weeks.
District Attorney Mike Waters said, “Other terms of the plea are: She will have to cooperate with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation which will include her being debriefed on the matter, and she will then have to submit to a polygraph exam.” Being debriefed and then undergoing a polygraph exam will allow investigators to determine if Reavis knows something else and assist the County of Vance in recovering additional funds.
Sentencing will be November 30th before the Honorable Robert H. Hobgood, who is the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge of the Ninth Judicial District, which includes Vance County.
Waters said, “The delay in sentencing will allow authorities to fully investigate the matter to make sure no one else was involved, possibly recover additional assets and allow Vance County to review internal procedures.”
It is not always the case that a county can fully evaluate itself with the help of someone providing information who previously exploited the county.
Waters said, “She will be sentenced November 30th, and she will get a sentence of 44 to 65 months, provided that she cooperates with law enforcement, including submission to a polygraph exam and providing that she gives $20,000.00 to the clerk within nine days.” Waters concluded that if she does not cooperate, the sentence could be more.
The plea to a Class C felony is a plea to the highest offense possible. The forgery and uttering charges were dismissed in this matter and did not include the possibility of jail time anyway. Reavis will not be charged further.
This all stems from the July 2014 discovery that a vendor check was intercepted and altered out of state, unrelated to the Reavis case. The internal review uncovered irregularities that began the criminal investigation.
The plea arrangement followed a hearing on the Defendant’s Motion to Suppress her statement given to investigators with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. A previous Motion to Suppress regarding the seizure of bank records had also been denied by Judge Hobgood. Waters said, “A plea arrangement saves the County of Vance and the State of North Carolina thousands and thousands of dollars by not having to go to trial, especially in a case like this that would take weeks to try.” The trial of the case had already been moved to Franklin County because of the extensive press coverage.
Waters was emphatic that the hard work of investigators with Sheriff Peter White’s Office helped bring the matter to a successful conclusion.
What is now of additional interest to the residents of Vance County is the missing bank bag, and if additional information learned between Wednesday’s plea and the date of Reavis’ sentencing could provide resolution to that matter as well.