An investigation that’s been ongoing since October of 2024 has led to charges of embezzlement against a Dunn woman.
Captain Marcus Smith with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday that Laura Lee Byrd, 50, of 2918 Easy St., Dunn, has been arrested and charged with financial crimes after an investigation that began on Oct. 30, 2024. She was arrested and booked in the Sampson County Jail under a $125,000 bond, charged with embezzlement greater than $100,000.
“The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office initiated a fraud investigation after receiving reports of unauthorized financial activity involving a family estate,” Capt. Smith reported.
After an investigation, the sheriff’s office determined that Byrd, then 49, was the suspect in the case. “Byrd had been entrusted with assisting in the settlement of the estate,” Smith stated, though he said he did not know her relationship to the family in question. “A detailed review of financial records revealed that over a period of approximately 18 months, an estimated $178,289 from broker-related transactions was deposited into the victim’s bank account. Investigators determined that Byrd systematically withdrew nearly all of these funds through frequent cash withdrawals until the account was fully depleted.”
Smith further explained that the investigation took more than a year to complete because of “the volume and complexity of the financial records involved, as well as procedural delays associated with obtaining documentation from multiple financial institutions.”
Investigators executed multiple search warrants and conducted numerous interviews to obtain necessary records and to trace specific transaction histories in order to substantiate the charges.
Upon investigation of Byrd’s criminal history, Smith said “a substantial pattern of financial exploitation” was found, with more than 32 previous charges of embezzlement. Her record also includes multiple felony convictions for obtaining property by false pretenses and obtaining controlled substances by fraud.
The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation, and Smith said further information will be released as it becomes available.