Insurance covers less than half of $2.3 million missing from Wake register of deeds

April 20--RALEIGH -- Raleigh

Wake County has received $1 million from its insurance company to cover part of the $2.3 million reported missing from the Register of Deeds office.

Former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick was charged late last year with six felony counts of embezzling more than $900,000 from the office she presided over for more than two decades.. A total of $2.3 million in cash went missing from the Register of Deeds office over a nine-year period, according to prosecutors and county officials.

Riddick, Troy Ellis, Veronica Gearon and Murray M. Parker are accused of embezzling more than $1.13 million over the past six years. Investigators haven't been able to account for what happened to nearly $1.2 million of the missing money.

The Wake County attorney's office filed an insurance claim to recover the maximum amount allowed under the county's insurance policy.

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"On that front, it's good news," Scott Warren, the county attorney, said of the insurance company providing $1 million. "That's recovering taxpayer money. And the rest, I guess the question would be, is how do you get that and I think that is through the criminal courts at this point."

The SBI began an investigation into the missing money in March 2017 after an internal audit ordered by top Wake County officials revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing.

By the end of the probe, investigators determined that at least $2.3 million could not be accounted for in an office that takes in about $14 million a year, a large portion of which is cash.

As the criminal cases go through the court system, county officials are developing plans to prevent such problems in the deeds office in the future.

Funding for an annual external audit of the office is likely to be in the county manager's recommended budget for the coming year, as well as a new job for a revenue manager to oversee cash handling for all departments.

"Our role as commissioners at this point is to make every effort to recoup as much money as possible and to put safety measures in place to ensure that such fraud can never happen again," said Jessica Holmes, chairwoman of the county commissioners.

The Register of Deeds office records legal documents and maps, issues marriage licenses and vital records certificates, certifies documents and administers notary-public oaths.

Riddick was elected as the register of deeds in 1996 and was at the helm of the office until her resignation last year.

A court hearing in her case is set for April 30.

Anna Johnson; 919-829-4807; @anna_m_johnson

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