Josh Dobson, former legislature and current candidate for NC Commissioner

of Labor, is using state funds as a piggy bank by collecting reimbursements

from the state for expenses while at the same time paying himself back with

campaign funds, ethics complaints allege. 

 

The complaint accuses Dobson, who represents McDowell County and is currently running for Commissioner of Labor, with receiving more than $90,000 in government payments for housing, meals, and travel since 2017 for expenses he never incurred because he used campaign funds to pay for them. The complaint claims Dobson received more than $50,000 for housing expenses from the state while his campaign paid $49,622 to rent and furnish an apartment in Raleigh.  Dobson also received more than $18,000 in gas mileage from the state. During that same period, he charged his campaign $17,091 for "gas," according to the complaint. Overall, the double dipping may have put tens of thousands of dollars right into Dobson’s pocket.