A former temporary employee of the North Carolina Department of Revenue was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a felony charge.
Shelly Christina Rozario, 54, of 108 Hassell Court, Garner, was charged on Sept. 24 with one count of Embezzlement of State Property by the N.C. Department of Revenue.
The arrest warrant alleges that Rozario embezzled, fraudulently and knowingly misapplied, and converted to her own use approximately $9,836.51 in U.S. currency, property belonging to the State of North Carolina, during the period Jan. 1 through Sept. 11, 2019. During this period of time, the defendant held the temporary position of administrative associate at the N.C. Department of Revenue, and in that capacity was entrusted with the property described.
Acting upon a tip received by the agency’s Tax Fraud Hotline, the NCDOR’s Criminal Investigations Section in Raleigh investigated the matter. Rozario was terminated on Sept. 11, and the case was subsequently referred to the Wake County District Attorney. Warrants allege Rozario embezzled $9,836.51 in the form of money orders submitted by taxpayers to the NCDOR.
“Theft is a breach of the public trust, something the department takes very seriously,” said Revenue Secretary Ronald G. Penny. “We believe this to be an isolated incident and we have made changes, such as installing additional cameras, to prevent something like this from happening in the future.”
Rozario appeared before a Wake County magistrate and was placed under a $20,000 bond. A first appearance was scheduled for Sept. 25, in Wake County District Court in Raleigh.