A North Carolina prosecutor said Monday that she found no wrongdoing related to payments from a pharmaceutical company and a bail agents’ group to House Speaker Tim Moore.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she’s closing the inquiry she began last fall without further action. She had asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the matters involving Moore, a Cleveland County attorney.
One involved Moore’s legal work for a company called Know Bio. Know Bio had hired Moore in 2017 and paid him $40,000 for four months of work largely related the treatment of startups in federal tax law. Previously, when Moore was the House Rules Committee chairman, he helped get legislation through that had rescued a Durham development project involving the company’s co-founder, Neal Hunter.
Freeman also looked at Moore’s legal work for the North Carolina Bail Agents Association in 2012. The News & Observer of Raleigh had received an anonymous letter that alleged the not-for-profit association had paid $10,000 to win his support for legislation that would prevent a for-profit competitor from offering training.
Freeman’s written statement says the fees that Moore received were for legal services as an attorney.
“This review found no misuse of public office for private gain or other wrongdoing as to these payments, and we therefore are closing the inquiry into this matter without further action,” Freeman wrote.
Moore said in October that his work “as a private attorney and businessman has never conflicted with my public service in the General Assembly.” He had acknowledged being paid $10,000 by the bail agents’ group but said the letter was otherwise full of lies.
Upon hearing of Freeman’s statement Monday, Moore said in a news release that he appreciated “the careful and professional way the district attorney and the SBI handled the anonymous allegations that were made against me.”
Related Stories
‹

North Carolina Updates More Than 20,000 Voter Records, Seeks More ID NumbersVoter registration records for more than 20,000 people in North Carolina have been successfully amended — but 82,000+ remain incomplete.

Duke Energy Seeks to Merge Carolina Utilities, Projecting More Than $1B in Customer SavingsDuke Energy Corp. said it formally asked federal and state regulators on Thursday for permission to join together its two subsidiaries.

North Carolina Gov. Stein Signs Stopgap Budget Bill and Vetoes Opt-in Bill Helping School ChoiceWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed into law on Wednesday a stopgap spending measure while lawmakers remain in a state budget impasse. But he vetoed legislation that would direct state participation in a yet-implemented federal tax credit program to boost school-choice options, suggesting state Republicans acted hastily. The […]

Latest Declaration by Gov. Stein Opens More Relief Opportunities for Orange County Flood VictimsNearly a full month removed from Tropical Depression Chantal's significant rain and subsequent flooding, victims in Orange County and other impacted regions have a new way to seek individual relief.

North Carolina DMV Audit Recommends Reforms To Reverse Customer Wait Times, Worker MoraleState Auditor Dave Boliek on Monday released two audits totaling nearly 600 pages that scrutinize the North Carolina DMV and offer changes.

North Carolina Senate Race Sets up as a Fight Over Who Would Be a Champion for the Middle ClassDemocrats still in the dumps over last year's elections have found cause for optimism in North Carolina in the 2026 U.S. Senate race.

North Carolina Lawmakers Approve Stopgap Spending Measure Amid Budget ImpasseNorth Carolina legislators gave final approval Wednesday to a stopgap spending measure while Republican leaders keep building a broad budget.

Some North Carolina Democratic Lawmakers Break from Party to Pass Republican PrioritiesNorth Carolina Republican lawmakers overrode several vetoes by Gov. Josh Stein, getting just enough votes from Democrats to enact some laws.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley Plans To Run for Senate in North Carolina, With Trump’s BackingMichael Whatley, chairman of the national Republican Party, plans to run for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in 2026, with the blessing of President Donald Trump.

Prodded by Lawsuits, North Carolina Seeks To Tighten Voter ID Records for Roughly 200,000 PeopleNorth Carolina election officials on Thursday launched an online database of voter registration records for 103,000 people being asked to add their driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers to the state's records
›