State Auditor Flags Potential Criminal Activity in Cary Town Manager Investigation

Overview

• Auditor Dave Boliek said an initial review, including a procurement card analysis, identified transactions potentially indicative of fraud under former manager Sean Stegall.
• Boliek met with Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and the SBI director to share the findings, and his office will continue providing information to law enforcement.
• Stegall was placed on leave in November and resigned in December with a $194,832 severance, while Deputy Town Manager Russ Overton was appointed interim manager.
• Public records show disputed spending that includes thousands at a four-star hotel during a 2023 Austin conference, a land purchase exceeding $1 million that some council members did not know about, and town-funded production of Stegall’s book.
• Town documents detail about $50,000 paid to a ghostwriter, roughly $37,000 to the publisher, and $7,000 for an advertisement for the book, which had sold 117 copies and provided 228 free as of mid-December; residents have criticized oversight and the town has rolled out transparency measures and an external legal review.