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WINTON – Two local women who had entered guilty pleas to embezzlement charges late last year will both serve active terms in prison.

Penny R. Allen, age 59 of Conway, and 60-year-old Pamela B. Wilson of Ahoskie were sentenced here Monday to a minimum of seven years behind bars for embezzling nearly $2 million over a period of five years from their former employer, Rose Brothers Paving Company of Ahoskie.

The Honorable Superior Court Judge Lamont Wiggins accepted the guilty pleas of four counts each of the Class C offense of Embezzlement and two counts each of the Class H offense of Embezzlement. The women each received an active term of imprisonment ranging from a minimum of 84 months and a maximum of 113 months (9.4 years) in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction.

Prior to receiving their sentences, Allen paid $138,000 and Wilson paid $8,000 in restitution to Rose Brothers Paving Company, Incorporated. Once released from prison, both women will be expected to continue paying off the remaining restitution.

These cases were handled by Special Resource Prosecutor Jordan Ford of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorney’s Financial Crime Unit. The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys is an independent prosecutorial agency whose mission is to assist in improving the administration of justice in North Carolina by coordinating the prosecution efforts of the various district attorneys by assisting them in the administration of their offices. The agency consists of and is governed by Elected District Attorneys and has a staff in Raleigh to carry out their goals and objectives.

“I want to thank and commend Resource Prosecutor Jordan Ford and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation on a job well done in this case,” stated local District Attorney Valerie Asbell. “These cases are very time consuming and I appreciate the time and effort that was put forth in this case to make sure that justice was served for these crimes. I am glad that the criminal case is over for Rose Brothers Paving Company and others that were affected by the actions of these defendants.”

The two women pled guilty as charged during a session of Hertford County Superior Court on Dec. 13, 2021.

A Hertford County Grand Jury indicted both women in July of 2020 at which time they voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement. That came on the heels of a prolonged investigation by the North Carolina SBI.

Information obtained from the SBI showed that the two women were formerly employed as office staff at Rose Brothers Paving Company.

Anjanette Grube, Public Information Director for the SBI, said the investigation showed that the money was allegedly embezzled between 2014 and 2019. The embezzlement was discovered by a CPA hired by Rose Brothers Paving, Grube said, adding that the investigation began on Aug. 14, 2019 at the request of the District Attorney.

That investigation revealed the two women embezzled $1,921,295.87 from Rose Brothers Paving Company.