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  Updated Jun 16, 2000       
    
  
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_Wilkinson, Bank Discuss Repayment
 
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BY SARA LINDAU
 _An attorney for Henry D. Wilkinson, who faces charges of embezzlement, said
Thursday that Wilkinson had taken "unauthorized loans" from Centennial Bank
and has repaid them in part. 
Attorney James Clarke II of Pinehurst also told The Pilot that he expects to
file an answer to Centennial Bank’s lawsuit against Wilkinson within 30 to 60
days. The suit claims that Wilkinson, a 49-year-old computer consultant who
lives in Pinehurst, took $200,000 of the new bank’s organizing funds from a
start-up account at Centura Bank. Wilkinson was a board member and treasurer
of Centennial Bank.In a written statement to The Pilot on Thursday, Clarke
added that, in the last two weeks, "there have been ongoing discussions with
the attorneys for Centennial Bank and Mr. Wilkinson’s wife to repay the
balance owed to the bank."Wilkinson could not be reached for comment on
Thursday. Clarke’s statement said that Wilkinson was out of town
working.Wilkinson’s wife of eight years, Ann Long, has moved out of the home
the couple shared and has said she plans to seek a divorce.Her attorney, Bruce
Cunningham of Southern Pines, said the couple’s home, The Arches, on McCaskill
Road in Pinehurst, is on the market and offers have been received. But he
added, "There is a serious dispute whether any of Ann’s proceeds from the sale
of the house would be involved in paying back the bank. … Normally, a spouse
is not liable for the debts of the other (spouse). The bank would have to
prove she personally benefited before she’d be liable."The bank’s lawsuit,
filed in Superior Civil Court in Carthage on Tuesday, seeks treble damages
plus court costs from Wilkinson. It alleges that he made four $50,000
transfers in the last few months of 1999 from the bank’s organizing account to
his own business account at Centura Bank. The suit also alleges that the funds
were used on personal living expenses, to pay taxes, and to make mortgage
payments.The suit further claims that Wilkinson has admitted to taking the
money.Both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the N.C. Commissioner of
Banks have been notified of the loss.Centennial CEO John Ketner has assured
shareholders that the loss does not affect the bank’s ability to function, nor
did it come from shareholders’ paid-in capital or deposits.Wilkinson’s name
has appeared in Moore County civil and criminal court proceedings, mostly
involving financial matters, numerous times since 1987.His most recent court
dates involved nine counts of failure to pay sales tax during 1999. In March
of this year, prayer for judgment was continued in District Criminal Court in
Carthage, and Wilkinson was ordered to pay restitution.In 1989, he was
convicted of writing a worthless check for $100 and ordered to pay
restitution. He was also convicted of a probation violation; the court
extended his probation.In 1988, he was convicted of driving while his license
was revoked, fined $300 and court costs, and given a six-month suspended
sentence, with two years’ unsupervised probation. In 1995, a clerk of court’s
delinquency notice showed him to be in arrears totaling $6,656.90 on child
support, owed to New York state for the support of his children by his first
marriage. The defendant admitted in open court to being in arrears and began
paying off the debt, according to court records.Other financial matters that
landed in court over the years in Moore County include a $1,000 small claims
judgment in 1990 by a Carteret County petitioner who sought repayment of a
loan, and another 1990 small claims judgment, for two months’ back rent
amounting to $187.50.

 "