WRAL.com - WRAL Investigates Crime & Punishment

Undercover video: Are Triangle tax preparers following the law?

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:35:51 -0400

Six months after the WRAL Investigates team reported on a statewide tax fraud scheme involving suspected illegal immigrants, undercover video shot in April shows a Cary tax preparer agreeing to help a mother claim a tax credit for her children living in Mexico.

Parents 'heartbroken' after no charges in baby's day care death

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:27:35 -0400

The parents of an infant who died after suffocating at a Fort Bragg day care in March 2012 said Monday they are "heartbroken and disappointed" that the U.S. Attorney's Office has decided not to file criminal charges against the day care worker who was supposed to be supervising their son.

Halifax County man profits from multiple deaths, suspicious fires

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:31:43 -0400

Public records show a Halifax County man profited from multiple deaths and suspicious fires across several North Carolina counties in the past eight years. The victims' families say his connection to those events is no coincidence.

NC company accused of swindling customers, yet no charges filed

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:24:26 -0500

A Lexington-based company is accused of swindling hundreds of thousands of people out of money through its online auction website. The government called it a Ponzi scheme and shut it down, yet no one has been charged.

Investigators: Child tax credit allows fraudsters a chance to cheat

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:40:39 -0400

Federal investigators uncovered more than 1,000 tax returns linked to eight addresses in North Carolina last May, with refunds worth more than $5 million. Investigators say it's part of a tax fraud scheme among suspected illegal immigrants that the Internal Revenue Service was warned about more than a decade ago but has done little to fix.

Attorneys: Sex offenders face dilemma when finding housing

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:28:53 -0400

When sex offenders are released from prison in North Carolina, they have three business days to let the local sheriff's office know where they are living. However, sex offenders on probation have even less time and must make housing plans before leaving prison.

Drunken mo-ped drivers dangerous, but could licenses kill industry?

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:31:29 -0400

Trauma surgeon Dr. A. Britton Christmas was working early one chilly morning when a drunken mo-ped driver came into the emergency room after a crash. Why was the man driving a mo-ped at 3 a.m. in cold weather, the doctor asked? His license had been revoked. As the doctor soon discovered, this man wasn't the only drunken driver taking to two wheels, unlicensed.

Wanted Alamance woman surrenders after seeing herself on WRAL

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:35:32 -0400

An Alamance County woman surrendered to authorities after seeing herself on a WRAL Investigates story about wanted probation violators on Facebook.

WRAL Investigates finds wanted probation violators online

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:14:34 -0500

Nearly 10,000 North Carolinians are wanted for violating their probation. Many of them are on the run, but some don't appear to be hiding. WRAL Investigates found dozens of them on Facebook and other social media sites, living their lives out in the open.

Expert: Reptile poaching is lucrative business

Tue, 03 May 2011 19:41:04 -0400

A Raleigh man is the subject of a federal investigation after police say he tried to smuggle a box full of endangered, protected turtles from a North Carolina wildlife refuge.

Inmates using smuggled smart phones to get online

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:36:09 -0500

Ricky Anderson, deputy director of prisons, says the state's 70 prisons do not allow computer or Internet access inside prison facilities, but inmates have found a way to go online using smart phones that are smuggled inside.

Medicare fraud easy to disguise; asking questions important

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:20:43 -0500

Complicated billing codes can make Medicare fraud easy to disguise, and as one Medicare recipient told WRAL Investigates, it’s important to ask questions about your statements.

Ex-bookkeeper charged with stealing from Garner fire department

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:50:17 -0400

A former employee of the Garner Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department was arrested Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of nearly $400,000 from the department, authorities said.

Commission to decide fired Cherry Hospital worker's fate

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:46:44 -0400

The State Personnel Commission held a hearing Thursday to decide whether a fired Cherry Hospital worker should get his job back following an altercation with a patient last March.

Bank director quits after being defrauded by Dunn businessman

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:58:00 -0400

A board member for a Dunn-based bank has resigned his position after getting caught up in a Ponzi scheme run by a fellow board member, according to the bank.

Patient's mother: Fired Cherry Hospital worker shouldn't return

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:02:40 -0400

Essie Freeman, 78, has a personal interest in North Carolina's zero-tolerance policy on abuse in psychiatric hospitals.

Special court cuts Johnston's DWI dismissal rate

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:28:00 -0400

A court set up in Johnston County to handle only DWI cases has racked up a conviction rate of nearly 90 percent in the last year, District Attorney Susan Doyle said Tuesday.

Claims pile up against dead Dunn businessman's estate

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:23:34 -0400

Claims against the estate of a Harnett County businessman that some people claim ran a $40 million Ponzi scheme continue to pour in.

Dunn stunned by fraud allegations against businessman

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:28:29 -0400

The apparent double life of a successful Harnett County businessman that was uncovered by WRAL Investigates has left friends and acquaintances shocked and searching for answers.

Dead Harnett businessman at center of money probe

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:28:29 -0400

Banks and individuals could have lost as much as $32 million in dealings with a Harnett County businessman who recently committed suicide, WRAL Investigates has found.

Murder charges filed in Wilson pedestrian deaths

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:31:12 -0400

A Kenly man charged in the June deaths of two pedestrians in Wilson has been indicted on murder charges.

Nine sentenced in cigarette-smuggling ring

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:52:00 -0400

Nine people have been sentenced on federal charges that they smuggled cigarettes from North Carolina throughout the northeast U.S. in effort to evade state taxes.

Bogus locksmith operation barred from working in N.C.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:23:46 -0400

A Superior Court judge on Tuesday fined a bogus locksmith operation more than $1.2 million and issued a permanent injunction to bar the operation from working in North Carolina.

Arrest warrant database helped capture dangerous driver

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:55:39 -0400

Johnston County authorities are crediting a statewide arrest warrant database for helping them take a dangerous driver off the road.

Raleigh police arrest two unlicensed locksmiths

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:30:00 -0400

Police on Thursday arrested two men on charges that they were performing locksmith services without a license, including one man who was the subject of a WRAL News hidden-camera investigation.

Senate debates tax stamps to snuff out cigarette smuggling

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:27:29 -0400

A Senate committee on Wednesday debated whether North Carolina should begin requiring tax stamps on packs of cigarettes to prevent smuggling.

ATF: Cigarette smuggling an ongoing problem in N.C.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:55:48 -0400

Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say they have not even "scratched the surface" when it comes to cigarette smuggling in North Carolina.

'Doctor shopping' common for prescription drug abusers

Mon, 24 May 2010 19:59:22 -0400

North Carolina drug investigators now list the illegal use of prescription drugs as one of the most common problems in the state.

Majority of violent Wake schools are middle schools

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:45:50 -0400

A WRAL Investigation found that seven of the 10 most violent public schools in Wake County are middle schools, and many of those troubled teens may not get the help they need because of budget cuts.

Convicted felons run for sheriff positions across the state

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:21:38 -0400

For 10 years, Gerald Hege was arguably one of the most well-known sheriffs in the country. In 2004, Hege pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice. The plea deal kept him out of jail, but cost him his job.

DA: Expired tags shouldn't be criminal offense

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:53:22 -0500

Vehicle owners in North Carolina are required to renew their registrations each year, but the law is routinely flouted, and Wake County's top prosecutor says having an expired tag should not be a criminal offense.

Businessman gets prison time for Medicare fraud

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:23:00 -0500

A Raleigh man who federal investigators say was at the center of an operation that pocketed more than $12 million from false Medicare claims was sentenced Monday to 7½ years in prison.