A former Chocowinity town clerk has been indicted on three felony embezzlement charges after investigators say she voided utility bills for her own residences, overpaid her own payroll and took cash that should have gone into the town's bank account. Lauren Ashley Hoggard, 37, of Washington, was arrested and booked into the Pitt County jail on Oct. 27 before posting a $135,000 secured bond and being released.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said Hoggard was indicted on three counts of embezzlement by a public officer, according to WYFF. Each charge is listed as a Class F felony, and two of them specifically refer to the town's utility department, as reported by WCTI12. A grand jury returned the indictments as true bills, which allows the case to move forward but is not a finding of guilt, the station notes.
The allegations span 2022 through 2024, the period Hoggard served as Chocowinity's clerk. Per The Washington Daily News, investigators allege she voided utility bills tied to her own residences instead of paying them, overpaid her own payroll, and took cash that should have been deposited into the town's bank account.
A Second Clerk Caught Up in the Same Investigation
Hoggard was not Chocowinity's first clerk to face scrutiny. She replaced Joy McRoy as town clerk in July 2022 after McRoy was also let go, and McRoy was later indicted on accusations of embezzling more than $500,000 from the town over seven years, according to witn.com. McRoy's indictment came in December 2023, and the report notes both she and Hoggard were investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for embezzlement by a public employee.
Chocowinity fired Hoggard on Aug. 21, 2024, after placing her on unpaid administrative leave the day before, with the termination letter citing failure in performance of duties and personal conduct, per the same witn.com report. The station's coverage of her indictment this week also states that Hoggard allegedly embezzled up to $100,000 from the town between 2022 and 2024 — though WCTI12's reporting says the indictments themselves do not specify a total amount allegedly involved, a discrepancy that remains unresolved in public records so far.
Town's Books Still a Mess Amid Ongoing Probe
The financial fallout has reached well beyond the criminal case. As of September 2025, the investigation into Hoggard's alleged embezzlement remained active, and Chocowinity had not submitted audits for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, according to the Local Government Commission as reported by The Washington Daily News. The town did not submit its fiscal-year 2022 audit until Aug. 27, leaving it three audits behind.
Untangling the mess has not come cheap. The town has spent $185,198.44 with GWI Tax & Accounting to rectify accounting records dating back to 2015, and paid Martin Starnes & Associates $99,428 just to audit fiscal year 2022, per the outlet's reporting. Former State Auditor Beth Wood was separately reported as saying that $600,000 was embezzled from the Town of Chocowinity overall, though it is not established how that figure relates specifically to the charges against Hoggard.
A court will set Hoggard's Superior Court date at a later time, according to witn.com's report on the indictment. She was released after posting her $135,000 secured bond through a professional surety, per WCTI12.
