Stephen A. LaRoque explained

Honorific Prefix:Representative
Stephen LaRoque
State House:North Carolina
Term Start:January 1, 2011
Term End:August 1, 2012
Successor:Karen Kozel
Term Start1:January 1, 2003
Term End1:January 1, 2007
Party:Republican

Stephen Alexander LaRoque was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's 10th House district, including constituents in Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties. A business owner from Kinston, North Carolina, LaRoque served three terms.

LaRoque was defeated in the May 2012 Republican primary by John Bell.[1]

LaRoque was supposed to have redirected loans from the U.S Department of Agriculture to small business owners in rural areas with limited access to capital. He was indicted by a federal grand jury "on charges that he misappropriated money from a federal program..."[2] LaRoque resigned from the legislature in July 2012.[3] LaRoque used the money on salaries, new cars and bejeweled Faberge eggs. He was convicted on 12 counts including theft, money laundering and filing false tax returns though ten charges were later dismissed.(2013)[4] [5]

On August 1, 2013, he was indicted on 12 counts. All but two of the twelve counts were set aside by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Malcolm Howard, due to juror misconduct, and a new trial was ordered. LaRoque pled guilty to aiding and abetting theft.[6]

He was released in May 2017 after serving one year and nine months.[7]

External links

|-

Notes and References

  1. http://www.kinston.com/articles/bell-82309-republican-wayne.html Kinston.com: It's official: Bell wins District 10 over LaRoque
  2. http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/11323882/ WRAL: NC lawmaker charged with stealing money from federal program
  3. http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/25/2220758/rep-laroque-resigns-from-house.html Rep. LaRoque resigns from House
  4. http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/07/2945583/former-state-rep-stephen-laroque.html state Rep. Stephen LaRoque convicted
  5. Stephen LaRoque, Republican Who Hired Unemployed Workers To Clean His Yard, Under Federal Indictment, Posted: 07/31/2012 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/stephen-laroque-indictment_n_1723530.html
  6. http://www.wral.com/asset/news/state/nccapitol/2013/08/02/12736749/Laroque_retrial_order.pdf Laroque retrial order
  7. News: Stephen LaRoque serves time, released from federal prison. 2017-05-15. WCTI. 2017-09-15. en-US.