A man is arrested after stealing a work truck from a Morganton business. A Morganton Department of Public Safety report on Thursday, states that officers responded to a report of a motor vehicle theft in progress at Wall Lumber Company. An employee reported to dispatchers that the truck was turning onto I-40 eastbound. After a pursuit with officers, Burke County deputies and the State Highway Patrol the suspect surrendered at a convenience store on Bethel Road. 29-year-old Cody Allen Kidd, who was recently released from jail in Burke County, was charged by Public Safety with felony larceny of a motor vehicle, and by the Highway Patrol with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle and two driving offenses. Bond was set at $26,000.

The owner of a recycling business pleads to tax fraud. 31-year-old Matthew Moretz of Taylorsville pleaded guilty to 1 count of filing a false tax return, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S.Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Beginning in or about March 2010 and continuing through in or about 2013, Moretz was self-employed as the owner of MJM Recycling, a scrap metal business. Moretz concealed significant personal earnings from his business from the IRS. As part of his plea agreement, Moretz has agreed to pay restitution of $116,409.38 to the IRS.

The Executive Director of a Morganton charity organization is charged with embezzlement. Board members of The Meeting Place One, Inc.notified authorities whenever discrepancies were noticed in recent bank statements. A 4-month investigation led Morganton Public Safety officials to discover unauthorized cash withdrawals, personal purchases, and the use of funds for gambling. 37-year-old Jesse James Carswell, formerly of Morganton, was arrested at his Virginia Beach residence for felonious embezzlement by an employee of a charitable institution. Carswell served as the The Meeting Place One's executive director for the last 4 years and was in charge of its' finances during the investigated time frame. Carswell reportedly illegally utilized funds amounting to an estimated $100,000; some of which he used at Harrah's Cherokee Casino. Carswell was extradited to Burke County and placed in jail under a $25,000 secured bond with a court appearance set for March 20.