Stephen Alexander LaRoque was a Republican member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

. He represented the state's 10th House district, including constituents in Greene,

Lenoir Lenoir may refer to: Locations: * Lenoir, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir City, Tennessee In Universities: * Lenoir-Rhyne University * Lenoir Dining Hall, a dining hall at the University of N ...

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. 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 Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. T ...

"on charges that he misappropriated money from a federal program..." LaRoque resigned from the legislature in July 2012. 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) 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. He was released in May 2017 after serving one year and nine months.

References

External links

stephenlaroque.com
, - Living people Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) North Carolina politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century American politicians People from Kinston, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub