Chair of Durham PAC charged with embezzling more than $74,000 from committee

WRAL News has learned the former member of a Durham Political Action Committee (PAC) has been charged with embezzlement.

According to court documents, Cassandra Shana Stokes, the former chair of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, was charged with embezzlement and fraud in connection with a State Bureau of Investigation case into fraud allegations involving the PAC.

Court documents alleged that she knowingly embezzled more than $74,000 for personal care and entertainment. Stokes allegedly wrote checks to herself to cash, and withdrew cash from a bank branch and ATM with the agency's debit card.

The SBI said it was asked by the Durham County District Attorney's Office to investigate the potential fraud involving the PAC in 2025, and it stemmed from allegations over concerns about the handling of PAC funds in 2023 and 2024.

On Tuesday,  Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People Floyd McKissick Jr. issued a statement.

"I would like to thank the Durham County District Attorney’s Office as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) for conducting a thorough investigation at the request of The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and as a result, the District Attorney‘s office has indicted Cassandra Stokes on charges of embezzlement and obtaining property by false pretenses," McKissick wrote.

McKissick wrote that Stokes' term ended in late January 2025, and the organization found "financial discrepancies" in February 2025.

"This matter was subsequently referred to the Durham County District Attorney’s Office and the SBI for investigation after a preliminary report was prepared by a Certified Public Accountant retained by The Durham Committee," McKissick wrote. "The Durham Committee is grateful for the investigation that has resulted in these charges being brought and it looks forward to the judicial outcome of this case."

WRAL Investigates previously spoke with Donald Hughes in 2025, who was vice chair of the PAC before resigning from it. He said he resigned after he uncovered discrepancies between bank statements and finance reports and did not agree with how the issue was handled.

The SBI said its investigation is ongoing.