Mecklenburg County Non-Profit Executive Arrested On Felony Tax Charges

RALEIGH, N.C. โ€“ On Thursday, March 28, 2024, Terri Lynette Howard, 66, of Lancaster, South Carolina, was arrested on felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue, according to a news release. The release states that Howard, executive director of the Mecklenburg County based non-profit, A Place for Heroes, was charged with two counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.

Indictments allege that Howard unlawfully obtained a sales tax refund of approximately $217,817.44 from the North Carolina Department of Revenue by filing fraudulent Forms E-585, North Carolina Individual Non-Profit Sales Tax Refund Claims from July 1 through December 31, 2018, and January 1 through June 30, 2019. Howard claimed approximately $217,817.44 was paid in sales tax by A Place for Heroes for the corresponding periods, when in fact it was not.

Howard appeared before a Stanly County magistrate and was placed under a $50,000.00 secured bond. A first appearance is scheduled for April 8, 2024, in Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh.

The charges against Howard resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Departmentโ€™s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh.