Charity president used $400,000 in donations for online gambling, NC sheriff says

The president of a North Carolina-based charity has pleaded guilty to using more than $400,000 in donations for online gambling bets, according to investigators in Lincoln County.

Kevin Joe Turner, 51, of Lincolnton, will serve between four and seven years in state prison, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 7 news release.

Turner was charged with three felony counts of embezzlement of more than $100,000 from L-Town Charities, based out of Denver, North Carolina. He was convicted in Lincoln County Superior Court on June 30, after pleading guilty, officials said.

An investigation concluded Turner used the non-profit’s bank card “to make more than $400,000 in online gambling bets alone, as well as make other unauthorized purchases,” the sheriff’s office said. The malfeasance stretched out over a two-year period, officials said.

“The non-profit provided opportunities for parents of children participating in various activities like dance and other sports to raise money to offset the costs associated with those activities,” the sheriff’s office said.

Turner was listed as the “sole principal” and agent of the charity, which launched in January 2023, according to Bizpedia.com.

Lincoln County is about a 35-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.