03/28/2024
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DOJA federal grand jury in Wilmington returned a 47 count indictment against former Eastpointe CFO William Robert Canupp and a contractor, Ronnie L. Davis, on Tuesday.

The indictment charged Canupp and Davis with conspiracy, bribery, organization fraud, and wire fraud. In addition, Canupp also faces a charge of money laundering.

According to reports, Davis has been indicted in federal court on 10 counts of paying bribes of $5,000 or more.

Eastpointe Behavioral Services serves a 12 county area providing mental health and behavioral health services. The counties served include Duplin, Bladen, Columbus, Edgecombe, Greene, Lenoir, Nash, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Wayne and Wilson.

If convicted of Count 1 (Conspiracy), the defendants face a maximum imprisonment of 5 years.  Each of counts 2-37 and count 47 carries a maximum imprisonment term of 10 years.  Each of counts 38-46 carries a maximum imprisonment term of 20 years.  The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of proceeds traceable to the offenses charged, including gross proceeds of $577,595. 

According to reports, Canupp was arrested by the State Bureau of Investigation in December. The charges allege Canupp spent $143,041 of agency funds for three vehicles “without a documented purpose.” He was charged with financial transaction card fraud. According to reports, these charges are separate from the federal charges.

According to the state auditor’s report, Eastpointe receives about 70 percent of its funding from Medicaid and about 23 precent from other state funding. The state auditor’s report also shows that the CFO, CEO, and other employees used the company credit cards to make questionable purchases in the amount of $160,000.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the United States of Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).

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