Former Top GOP Lawmaker Charged With Embezzlement

A Wake County grand jury indicted former state Rep. Jason Saine this week on two felony counts of embezzlement in excess of $100,000 and two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense. 

The charges relate to Saine’s involvement in Greater Carolina, a conservative advocacy group that drew headlines for an April 2024 tour at a Kentucky bourbon distillery where state lawmakers were accused of acting disorderly. The indictment accuses Saine, who is now a registered lobbyist, of aiding and abetting David Coble, who prosecutors said was listed as the group’s treasurer and now faces the same charges plus an additional count of embezzlement of less than $100,000.

According to the indictment, Saine assisted Coble in soliciting donations to Greater Carolina. But rather than using the funds for the group’s stated purpose of supporting business and free enterprise, it used the money for Coble and others’ personal benefit, prosecutors allege.

In a statement, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said groups like Greater Carolina “have become a pervasive part of the political landscape on both sides of the political aisle over the last decade.”

She added: “While I do not anticipate that will change, this case serves as a reminder that the law places restrictions on the way they operate and sets forth that they should not be used as an end run around the statutory framework embodied in our state’s Ethics Act and lobbying regulations.”

Saine, who was a top budget writer in the state House and resigned from office in August 2024, denied any wrongdoing.

“I do not understand why I have been charged in this case,” he said in a statement. “The indictment claims that I ‘aided and abetted’ a crime committed by someone else – I did not do that. This organization has an independent board that decided what and where to spend its money, and how to raise it. I was not involved in those decisions, as I told the State. I did not commit any crime and I look forward to clearing my name.”

Business NC first reported on the indictment.

In 2024, the left-leaning advocacy group Carolina Forward filed a complaint accusing Greater Carolina of using its nonprofit tax status to bankroll what it described as Saine’s “exorbitant spending habits.” 

Since forming in 2018, Greater Carolina’s annual fundraising “grew substantially from approximately $60,000 its first year to more than $800,000 in 2023 and more than $500,000 in 2024,” according to a search warrant. 

Greater Carolina’s latest federal tax filings list Coble as the group’s director and show it took in more than $834,000 in 2023, $568,000 in 2024, and $26,500 in 2025. In 2024, the group spent more than $733,000, including more than $531,000 on “education,” $125,000 on contractors, $41,000 on meals, and nearly $30,000 on travel.

Freeman said the case will be handed over to her successor, Wiley Nickel, when he takes office next year.

An arraignment hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17.