NCDMV closes Southport license plate agency, investigation ongoing
The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles closed the license plate agency in Southport Friday.
John Brockwell, communications officer for the Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau, said the closure followed “the discovery of several contract violations.”
A letter from the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Vehicles addressed to Vera Martin, contractor for the NCDMV License Plate Agency in Southport, stated the DMV has been investigating "customer complaints of office closures and possible notary violations over several months," and during that time, it was discovered that the Southport License Plate Agency is in violation of its contract and standard operating procedures dated October 15, 2022.
The letter also stated the DMV "may terminate a contract during the term only for cause." It further cited several causes for the purpose of terminating the contract. They included gross incompetence in the performance of the contract; gross mismanagement of DMV equipment and property; commission of fraud, embezzlement, or an offense involving moral turpitude by the contract or the license plate agency's employees in connection with the performance of the contract; incorrect performance of vehicle transactions that result in an adverse impact on DMV's processes and require effort on DMV's part to correct; and incorrect performance of vehicle transactions that result in an adverse impact on the general public.
The letter further ordered that the license plate agency cease operations as of Friday, January 6, 2023, and it stated the division would provide "a final inventory audit and remove all equipment and supplies belonging to the state.
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Brockwell couldn't provide further comment on the agency's closure.
“Due to the ongoing investigation by the NC License & Theft Bureau, no additional information will be provided at this time,” he said in an email.
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In North Carolina, the NCDMV oversees license plate agencies, but the agencies are managed by private businesses or local governments. According to an NCDMV news release, the Southport license plate agency has been operated by Martin since 2008.
The phone number for the agency was not working Friday.
License plate agencies offer vehicle registration services and title transactions, as well as license plate renewals, replacement tags, and duplicate registrations. Currently, there are 126 license plate agencies operating in North Carolina.
This is the second time in recent memory the NCDMV has closed a license plate agency in Brunswick County.
In 2006, the NCDMV closed a license plate agency on Oak Island for alleged embezzlement discovered in a routine audit by NCDOT inspectors. That agency was operated by a different individual, and an employee later pleaded guilty to embezzlement.
Three nearby license plate agencies offer services Monday through Friday: Bolivia, 30 Government Drive NE, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 910-253-2712; Shallotte, 5300 S. Main Street, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 910-754-4591; and Wilmington, 2390 Carolina Beach Rd., Suite 108, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 910-763-6752.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Southport license plate agency closed, under investigation
