Former city employee arrested on 5 counts of felony embezzlement

Alisa Huntley, a former city of Charlotte employee who worked in the city manager’s office, was arrested Wednesday on five counts of felony embezzlement.

A day after Huntley’s arrest, the city released an audit that detailed the use of so-called “P-cards” that make it easier for some employees to make business purchases.

The audit found that one employee “committed theft through use of the City’s P-Card to purchase services and merchandise for personal use.”

The audit found that the employee made nearly $55,000 in purchases from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2014.

The audit said it found receipts for about $15,000 of those purchases. But the audit said it appeared the employee used the card for expenses that appeared to be for personal use, including $9,046 for Verizon and $1,140 for Time Warner Cable.

The audit said the city contacted the former employee, who “admitted to obtaining personal benefit by using the City’s P-Card.”

The audit said it found “no evidence” that any other employee was aware of the thefts or facilitated the former employee’s actions.

It said “weak supervisory oversight allowed the thefts to continue over a period of at least four years.”

Huntley worked in a support role in the manager’s office. She had left the city before the audit began.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Former city employee arrested on 5 counts of felony embezzlement."