Former NC Gov. Mike Easley sells Cannonsgate lot | News
OCEAN – A former North Carolina governor sold his property in a subdivision of Carteret County that was the subject of a lawsuit in 2009.
Former Governor Mike Easley sold his property at 422 Ixon Place in the Cannonsgate subdivision of Ocean Township in June. A deed recorded on the Carteret County Register of Deeds Office shows that Mr. Easley and his wife Mary sold the 0.36 acre vacant property to Midland Trust Co. as custodian on June 25.
According to real estate data from the County Tax Office, the Easleys bought the property on December 22, 2005 for $ 550,000 but came under fire after it became known, they received a 25% discount on the property. The discount of $ 137,000 was not included in the deed transaction at this point. The attorney who handled the deal, then Beaufort Mayor Richard Stanley, called it a “seller’s discount” and said he had no direct contact with the Easleys prior to the sale.
Several of the people involved in Cannonsgate as developers were former allies and campaign donors of former Governor Easley.
According to the tax stamp on the deed dated June 25, the Easleys sold the property for $ 346,500.
The News-Times tried to solicit comments from Mr. Easley or a representative, but was unsuccessful. The attorney who helped record the recent crime declined to speak to the News-Times, citing legal confidentiality.
The Cannonsgate division was brought into a lawsuit in 2009 alleging that investment firm Total Realty Management LLC committed mortgage fraud in the sale of land and sold vacant lots at “grossly inflated prices”. The company went bankrupt, and in 2013, one of the co-owners of the LLC who was an advisor to Governor Easley, pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy in federal court.
Despite the legal issues, sales of Cannonsgate properties resumed in 2016, this time under a local developer-broker team comprised of ReMax Ocean Properties of Morehead City and Streamline Developers of Morehead City.
Contact Mike Shutak at 252-723-7353, email [email protected]; or follow on Twitter at @mikesccnt.
Contact Jackie Starkey at 252-726-7081 extension. 225; Email at [email protected]; or follow on Twitter @jackieccnt.