New Hanover County businessman Marteke Latwuan Franks, 48, of Sneads Ferry was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 15 on felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue. He was charged with five counts of Embezzlement of State Property.
Indictments allege that Franks, sole member of Fuwangz, LLC, aided and abetted the business to embezzle, misapply, and convert to its own use approximately $79,894.22 in North Carolina Sales Taxes (State & New Hanover County) from May 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2020. During this time, Franks was a responsible person of Fuwangz, LLC, and was under a duty to collect, hold in trust, and remit North Carolina and New Hanover County Sales Tax to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Franks appeared before a Wake County magistrate and was placed under a $25,000.00 secured bond. A first appearance is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2024, in Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh.
The charges against Franks resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh.