Pilot Mountain’s former town manager and finance officer, Michael Boaz, has gone from running the books to facing a felony indictment. A Surry County grand jury on Monday charged Boaz with embezzlement by a public officer, following an audit and state criminal review that investigators say uncovered personal spending on a town credit card. The criminal case lands months after local leaders began publicly questioning the town’s finances last year and ultimately moved to remove Boaz from his job.
What prosecutors say
State Auditor Dave Boliek said his office, working with the State Bureau of Investigation, reviewed more than $317,000 in credit-card activity tied to Pilot Mountain and that the grand jury returned an indictment against Boaz. According to Spectrum News, auditors allege Boaz used the town card for personal food purchases totaling more than $10,700, Visa gift cards worth $2,300, DoorDash orders of about $1,500, a $419 family trip to Seattle, and $276 in ammunition.
Boliek told reporters those amounts matter in a place the size of Pilot Mountain and said the auditor’s review, combined with the SBI investigation, led to the grand jury’s decision to indict.
Investigation and timeline
Local records and reporting show Boaz was placed on administrative leave in October 2024 after town officials spotted discrepancies in the finances. The board then voted to terminate him in early December 2024. As WXII reported, the town brought in a former state auditor to go through its books and publicly discussed sending the matter to the SBI for a deeper look. Those steps laid the groundwork for the later state audit that preceded this week’s indictment.
Local reaction and budget impact
Boliek emphasized the stakes for a community where every line item counts. “Pilot Mountain is a small town, not a large city. These sums of money are meaningful to the taxpayers in Pilot Mountain,” he said at the auditor’s press conference. Per Spectrum News, the auditor’s office flagged the questioned purchases after its audit and criminal inquiry.
Town meeting records and recent agenda documents show officials have already been wrestling with tight reserves and delayed projects while they sort out the financial fallout of the credit-card spending and the broader review.
Legal implications
The charge, embezzlement by a public officer, is a felony under North Carolina law. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14‑92 provides that embezzlement of public funds is a felony, and that cases involving $100,000 or more are treated as Class C felonies, while smaller amounts can be prosecuted as Class F felonies. That distinction will drive any potential sentencing if Boaz is convicted. For now, the indictment marks the start of the criminal case, and prosecutors still have to prove their allegations in court.
What comes next
Because a Surry County grand jury returned the indictment, the case now heads to Superior Court in Dobson for arraignment and pretrial hearings. The Surry County Courthouse will handle the felony docket and public filings that show how prosecutors decide to proceed, including whether they seek additional charges or restitution in the coming weeks. At this stage, the indictment signals that formal criminal proceedings are underway, and Boaz remains entitled to due process protections as the case moves forward.
