Ex-Wake deeds office staffers get prison time for roles in embezzlement

Three former Wake County employees pleaded guilty Friday to participating in a scheme that saw more than $1 million skimmed from the Register of Deeds Office.

Longtime Register of Deeds Laura Riddick pleaded guilty in August to embezzlement by a public officer after investigators concluded that she stole more than $900,000 from cash receipts that flowed into her office between 2010 and 2017.

Riddick resigned from her position last year, shortly after the State Bureau of Investigation was called in to examine money missing from the office, which records real estate transactions, issues marriage licenses and handles birth and death certificates, among other duties.

Employees in the deeds office found irregularities in January 2017 as they were trying to improve cash-handling systems, so county auditors were brought in to go over the books.

Former deeds office staffer Murray Parker pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of embezzlement by a public officer. Court papers show he stole about $74,000 between Jan. 11, 2010, and March 31, 2013.

Prosecutors said Riddick began asking Parker for money, who turned it over to his boss and began siphoning money from daily cash deposits as well.

Parker accepted a deal that calls for him to repay $74,067 and spend a year to two years in prison.

Veronica Gearon, the former supervisor of the recording section in the deeds office, was accused of embezzling about $80,000 during her 15 years working there.

In the course of the investigation, Gearon denied taking money for her own purposes, but a review of her bank records showed "consistent deposits of several thousands of dollars in cash," deposits that she could not explain, prosecutors said.

Gearon entered an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to admit there is enough evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt. She was sentenced to eight to 19 months in prison – an additional 16 to 20 months was suspended – and three years on supervised probation.

She also was ordered to repay $80,950, with $35,839 due within 30 days. Her attorney said she would withdraw that amount from her retirement account. The bulk of her repayment is due by the end of her probation term.

Troy Ellis, whom prosecutors lauded for coming forward within hours of the announcement that the SBI was investigating the office, also pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors said Ellis admitted to taking money himself but was unaware that others were skimming as well. He told them he was tempted to pocket cash after noticing money left in a cashier's drawer, unaccounted for overnight.

Ellis said in court that he was "sliding out $60 to $300" from cash that he was charged with collecting from cashiers and delivering to Riddick to be reconciled. He apologized to the county before Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt sentenced him to 45 days in jail, 36 months on supervised probation and restitution of $21,660.

"I can't understand how $60 at a time would be worth standing here in court and pleading to a felony," Holt said.

Jessica Holmes, who chairs the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said the county is working to ensure similar cases don't happen in the future.

"The guilty pleas of the three former employees today, as well as Laura Riddick this summer, bring us closer to righting the wrongs that occurred in the Register of Deeds Office from 2008 to 2017. As a result, these four individuals will pay back to the county more than $1 million of the money missing from the Register of Deeds Office," Holmes said in a statement. "To help prevent this type of situation from happening again, the board has worked closely with county staff for more than a year to improve cash-handling policies and procedures, and enhance training for our employees."