A Raleigh business owner is facing a stack of felony and misdemeanor charges after state investigators say he quietly steered nearly $778,000 in tax money into his own pocket instead of the public coffers.
Donish Lee Uddin, 32, owner of Courtside NC, LLC and Courtside NC Online, LLC, was arrested Monday and charged with embezzling state property and failing to file required tax returns. He was booked and released the same day on a $200,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to be back in Wake County Superior Court next Monday.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
According to the N.C. Department of Revenue, Uddin faces six counts of Embezzlement of State Property, eight counts of misdemeanor willful failure to file North Carolina corporate income tax returns and five counts of misdemeanor willful failure to file individual income tax returns.
The indictments allege the conduct stretched from June 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2022, and that $777,878 in state and Wake County taxes collected at his businesses were diverted for Uddin’s personal use instead of being turned over to tax authorities.
How Investigators Built the Case
The charges grew out of a probe by the N.C. Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Division, the arm of the agency that tracks down suspected tax embezzlement and related revenue crimes, per the N.C. Department of Revenue. The department has recently rolled out a string of public enforcement notices as it tries to claw back unpaid taxes and put alleged bad actors on notice.
A Familiar Story in North Carolina Tax Courts
Cases involving business owners accused of pocketing collected taxes have been popping up across the state, from mom-and-pop shops to bigger brands. Hoodline previously covered a headline-grabbing Tobacco Road guilty plea in which the operator admitted to siphoning more than $1.7 million in sales tax, highlighting just how large these alleged schemes can get in Wake County and beyond.
What Happens Next in Court
Per CBS17, court records show Uddin was arrested Monday, then released on an unsecured $200,000 bond the same day. His first appearance in Wake County Superior Court is set for next Monday.
It remains unclear whether this case will eventually land in plea negotiations or march toward a full trial. Filings, pretrial motions and early moves by prosecutors and defense attorneys in the coming weeks will set the tone.
The Legal Stakes
Under North Carolina law, failing to turn over collected state or local taxes is treated as embezzlement, and any amount of $100,000 or more is a Class C felony, according to the N.C. General Statutes, Chapter 14, Article 18. Class C felonies carry serious prison and financial penalties if there is a conviction.
The misdemeanor counts for willful failure to file corporate and individual income tax returns bring lighter penalties on their own but can significantly add to a defendant’s overall legal exposure when stacked alongside multiple felony charges.
What to Watch
The Wake County case is likely to shed more light on the inner workings of Courtside NC as indictments, arraignment filings and detailed statements from prosecutors hit the public record.
Hoodline will keep an eye on court documents and official releases and update this story as new filings and statements emerge.
