Franklin Carver likes to spend money on bedding, barbecueand on occasion, a little something for the lady in his life.
Using his employer’s credit card, the former N.C. Central University assistant provost bought personal items such as groceries, music, home improvement supplies, movie tickets and women’s apparel, including items at Priscilla’s, a women’s lingerie store with shops in Raleigh and Greensboro.
The expenses were detailed in American Express statements obtained by the Indy through an open records request.
Carver was the target of a state audit earlier this month, which found he authorized more than $36,000 in improper payments to students, and used some of the kickbacks to help pay off personal debt accrued on the NCCU credit card.
According to the audit, Carver acknowledged his romantic relationship with a student who was paid for work that she didn’t do.
Carver spent at least $350 on shoes, $337 on groceries, $750 at department stores, $453 at the Mattress Warehouse and nearly $100 at Priscilla’s between February 2003 and October 2003, when the account was cancelled and sent to a collection agency. The balance on the card at cancellation was $5,336.
From July 2004 to November 2004, Carver paid off the card in $1,000 increments.
Carver told auditor’s office investigators that he charged “everything” on the card, mixing personal and university expenses, including restaurant tabs and trips to Albany, Ga., Lake Tahoe and Washington, D.C.
According to the state auditor’s report, despite Carver’s violation of NCCU policy, the university issued him another credit card. A former NCCU auditor initiated a credit card investigation, but it was suspended by previous NCCU management.
Carver was dismissed from his position, but as a tenured employee, remains a faculty member until after a due process hearing.
