Owner of Fermental charged with embezzlement

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A New Hanover County businessman appeared in Wake County court Tuesday on felony tax charges.

According to a news release from the NC Department of Revenue, Steven Ronald Gibbs, 44, was arrested yesterday and charged with four counts of embezzlement of state property and four counts of embezzlement of New Hanover County property.

Gibbs owns Fermental, Inc., a shop that sells craft beer and wine in Ogden.

According to the release, arrest warrants allege that Gibbs aided and abetted the business to embezzle, misapply and convert to its own use $44,059.20 in state and New Hanover County sales tax between September 1, 2014, and September 20, 2017. The Department of Revenue says during this time, Gibbs was the responsible person of Fermental, Inc., which was under a duty to collect, hold in trust and remit North Carolina state and New Hanover County sales tax to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Gibbs appeared before a Wake County magistrate and was placed under a $50,000 bond.

The charges against Gibbs resulted from an investigation by special agents with the NC Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Section in Raleigh.

According to the Wake County Clerk of Court, during Gibbs’ first court appearance today, his bond did not change. Gibbs also received another court date in August.

WWAY reached out to Fermental. We were told no one wants to comment.