MORGANTON -- A former Teacher of the Year walked into a Burke County Court on Wednesday only saying he would find his own lawyer after being accused of submitting fake receipts.
Hampton Marshall Boggs was also the wrestling coach at Burke High School. Officials say he turned in fraudulent receipts to the school for wrestling tournaments and registration fees that never existed. Court paperwork shows that the school paid him nearly $1,500 and parents are questioning the school.
“We send our kids to the school trusting that the teachers are going to look out for them and care for them and then a teaches do this. It makes us second guess,” Michelle Abernathy said.
According to school officials, Boggs had been an employee since 2013 and after an internal investigation he was suspended. Boggs officially resigned in September, surrendering his teachers license pending an investigation by the state board.
Parents at the school say not only do they want him facing time for these charges, but they also want him to pay it all back because it is tax payers’ money.
In court the judge said he could face more than three years in prison for each charge and officials with the sheriff’s office say more charges could be coming.
