Stephen A. LaRoque

Stephen Alexander LaRoque was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's 10th House district, including constituents in Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties. A business owner from Kinston, North Carolina, LaRoque served three terms.

Representative
Stephen LaRoque
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 10th district
In office
January 1, 2011 – August 1, 2012
Preceded byVan Braxton
Succeeded byKaren Kozel
In office
January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2007
Preceded byRussell Tucker
Succeeded byVan Braxton
Personal details
Political partyRepublican

LaRoque was defeated in the May 2012 Republican primary by John Bell.[1]

LaRoque was supposed to have redirected loans from the U.S Department of Agriculture to small business owners in rural areas with limited access to capital. He was indicted by a federal grand jury "on charges that he misappropriated money from a federal program..."[2] LaRoque resigned from the legislature in July 2012.[3] LaRoque used the money on salaries, new cars and bejeweled Faberge eggs. He was convicted on 12 counts including theft, money laundering and filing false tax returns though ten charges were later dismissed.(2013)[4][5]

On August 1, 2013, he was indicted on 12 counts. All but two of the twelve counts were set aside by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Malcolm Howard, due to juror misconduct, and a new trial was ordered. LaRoque pled guilty to aiding and abetting theft.[6]

He was released in May 2017 after serving one year and nine months.[7]

References
  1. Kinston.com: It's official: Bell wins District 10 over LaRoque
  2. WRAL: NC lawmaker charged with stealing money from federal program
  3. Rep. LaRoque resigns from House Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. state Rep. Stephen LaRoque convicted Published: June 7, 2013] Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Stephen LaRoque, Republican Who Hired Unemployed Workers To Clean His Yard, Under Federal Indictment, Posted: 07/31/2012
  6. Laroque retrial order
  7. "Stephen LaRoque serves time, released from federal prison". WCTI. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2017-09-15.


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