"Congenital embezzler"? One year after getting allegations censored, Wake Forest ex-commissioner charged with stealing $70k
Elizabeth "Liz" Simpers, 49, faces four counts of embezzlement
An investigation by the Wake Forest Police Department has resulted in the arrest of former Wake Forest Town Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Goddard Simpers, 49, on four charges of embezzlement for misappropriating $69,348.19 from the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce for private use.
Based on the timing, as well as statements by the WFPD and the Wake Forest mayor, it appears the investigation was set into motion by a July 2024 article by Carol Pelosi of the Wake Forest Gazette publicizing allegations of embezzlement. The article was removed shortly thereafter in response to pleas and legal threats by Simpers and her attorneys, according to a statement published by Pelosi explaining the erasure.
In a statement provided to the Triangle Trumpet, Pelosi reiterated Simpers history of embezzlement, and expressed a desire for her to leave the town altogether:
Liz Simpers is a congenital embezzler and has proved it several times. She has a trail of nondisclosure agreements from the time she graduated from North Carolina's School of Design, and most likely before.
She can be pitied for her obsession but no one should ever hire her, place her in a position where she has any access to funds or believe her.
I hope she and her wife and family move from Wake Forest.
Background
Simpers, who recently changed her legal name from "Elizabeth Ann Simpers," was elected to one four-year term on the Town of Wake Forest Board of Commissioners in 2017, before losing reelection in 2021.
Simpers was hired as the Director of Development for the Chamber's foundation in February 2020, before being elected as president of the Chamber in May 2022.
In a since deleted post and video, Simpers was even recognized as Wake Forest's 2023 NC Main Street Champion for her "professional endeavors" as Chamber president as well as being a "tireless advocate" downtown.
In April 2024, it was announced that Simpers was resigning from the Chamber due to "personal reasons."
However, three months later, on July 17, the allegations of embezzlement surfaced in an article written by Carol Pelosi in her independent local news publication, the Wake Forest Gazette, claiming that Simpers had been "allowed to resign" after being confronted and admitting to embezzling at least $40,000 from the Chamber.
The article (archived here) further reported that it was "widely known" that Chamber officials were aware, at the time of her appointment, that she had previously embezzled from the YMCA of the Triangle, where she had been associate branch director.
Two days after the publication of the article, according to Pelosi, she received a cease and desist order from Simpers' legal representation "demanding a retraction, an apology, and threatening legal action," as well as an email from Simpers herself "pleading to remove the article for her family’s sake."
Pelosi agreed to remove the article eleven days after its publication in exchange for an end to the legal threats, explaining to the public that it was not a retraction, but that it was the right decision for her as a local news publisher who ran the Gazette as a non-profitable service to the community.
In response, the community donated over $4,000 to a fundraiser created by Pelosi's husband to offset the legal costs to their family. (For transparency, the publisher/editor of the Triangle Trumpet, Stephen Horn, was among the contributors.)
Investigation & Charges
The public interest created by the article lead to a number of inquires by community members and news outlets as to whether police were investigating the allegations, prompting Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones to issue a response on July 24, 2024 explaining that the WFPD had not opened an investigation into the allegations because the Chamber "ha[d] not reported being the victim of a crime."
However, approximately 13 months after the allegations had been made public, the WFPD issued a statement this week revealing that after a "13-month investigation," Simpers had been charged with four counts of embezzlement, a Class H felony under NC GS § 14-90.
The Chamber issued a release the same day, stating that the organization had been "cooperat[ing] fully with investigators" regarding Simpers' actions, which had "caused harm to the Chamber and placed the organization in a precarious position."
According to the charges, Simpers fraudulently spent Chamber funds for personal use in the following amounts:
$750.00 for hardscape and masonry work at her personal residence
$1,000.00 for tree services at her personal residence
$1,613.43 for plumbing services at her personal residence
$65,984.76 for "items and services" including
a party bus rental
orthopedic services
professional photographs
residential plumbing repairs
various Amazon retail items
Simpers turned herself in to the Wake County Detention Center on Thursday, and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Embezzlement is NC’s second favorite indoor activity.
Unlike you, I am not going to judge somebody just because it makes you look good. I know some of the story and I also know that the numbers are bogus and you are only going for sensationalism. It's a shame that you feel like you need to be superior to other people. You need to put yourself in other people's shoes and maybe have a little empathy until the courts does their job. I am in no way saying that what she is accused is okay. But I do know that the Wake Forest Police department did a s***** job in investigating. And yes I have the knowledge to know that.
Your numbers are skewed, and there has been no financial loss to the chamber.
Why don't you let this young woman and her family try to learn from this and become great citizens.
I noticed you neglected to say what Liz did for the chamber while she was there saying only the accused wrongs.
Your one-sided journalism is why I won't read The gazette.
My added thoughts, please retire....