Third Individual Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Steal Funds from COVID-19 Support Program

GREENSBORO – WILLIE LEE MOORE, a Montgomery County man, pleaded guilty today to theft of government property in connection with a scheme to steal money from a COVID-19 support program, announced Dan Bishop, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund which provided payments to states and eligible units of local government to be used on certain expenses in response to the COVID-19 emergency. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (“NC DHHS”), using the federal CARES Act funding provided to North Carolina, established the COVID-19 Support Services Program to support individuals in targeted counties who needed care and resources in order to successfully quarantine and isolate. NC DHHS contracted with regional partners to provide and deliver support on the ground in designated counties. Available support services included nutrition services such as home-delivered meals and groceries to individuals in isolation and quarantine, as well as provision of COVID-related over-the-counter supplies, such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies.

According to court documents, MOORE, Jamie Ewings, and Navonne Moore were associated with a not-for-profit community organization called Brutonville Concerned Citizens (“BCC”). BCC was subcontracted to provide support services, including the delivery of healthy food boxes and COVID-related supplies to qualifying individuals. Although BCC provided some food boxes to the community, the three individuals submitted inflated and fraudulent invoices and receipts so that BCC would be reimbursed more money than it was entitled to receive. MOORE, Ewings, and Navonne Moore agreed to divide the reimbursement money among themselves. In total, BCC received about $1,144,649 over five payments between November 2020 and February 2021. Of that money, MOORE received about $369,000, Ewings received about $384,000, and Navonne Moore received about $180,000. The rest of the money was left in BCC’s bank account.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place on February 24, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina, before Chief/Senior United States District Judge Catherine C. Eagles. At sentencing, MOORE faces a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, restitution, and other monetary penalties.

Jamie Ewings previously pleaded guilty to theft of government property and was sentenced to 13 months of imprisonment. Navonne Moore pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor theft of government property and was sentencing to four years of probation.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Waid.

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