<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=08tBRR_1H4NR1xQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=08tBRR_1H4NR1xQ00" width="1200" height="675" ><figcaption>Photo: KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA / Pexels</figcaption></figure>(The Center Square) – Former North Carolina state Rep. Jason Saine faces four felony charges in Wake County, accused of misusing donor funds at a nonprofit that sponsored Kentucky bourbon trips for lawmakers, a search warrant filed by the State Bureau of Investigation says.Saine, a former House Appropriations Committee chairman, denied wrongdoing in an interview with The Center Square. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, in a written statement provided to The Center Square, said politically active nonprofits should not be used to circumvent state ethics and lobbying rules.A Wake County Superior Court record filed Thursday lists two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and two counts of embezzlement, each for $100,000. The indictment says Saine aided and abetted David Coble, treasurer of the nonprofit Greater Carolina and former staffer to Saine.“I do not understand why I have been charged in this case,” Saine said in a written statement to The Center Square. “The indictment claims that I ‘aided and abetted’ a crime committed by someone else – I did not do that.“This organization has an independent board that decided what and where to spend its money, and how to raise it. I was not involved in those decisions, as I told the state. I did not commit any crime, and I look forward to clearing my name.”Prosecutors say Coble solicited donations by telling donors their money would support policies favorable to business and free enterprise, then diverted funds for personal benefit. The indictment says Saine benefited and cites purchases or attempted purchases of food, beverages, lodging and tickets to sporting events.The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Coble's attorney, Mark Jones.In a written statement, Freeman said that Coble faces two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and three counts of embezzlement, including one involving less than $100,000.In separate cases tied to the 2024 Kentucky bourbon trips, Wake County prosecutors dismissed charges against three lobbyists on Sept. 21 after they complied with deferred prosecution agreements, according to court records.Saine and Coble are next scheduled to appear in court Dec. 7.</div></body>

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(The Center Square) – Former North Carolina state Rep. Jason Saine faces four felony charges in Wake County, accused of misusing donor funds at a nonprofit that sponsored Kentucky bourbon trips for lawmakers, a search warrant filed by the State Bureau of Investigation says. Saine, a former House Appropriations...

Former state representative facing 4 felony charges

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(The Center Square) – Former North Carolina state Rep. Jason Saine faces four felony charges in Wake County, accused of misusing donor funds at a nonprofit

Former state representative facing 4 felony charges

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