Meg Scott Phipps is an American former politician and convicted

felon A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...

who served as the Commissioner of Agriculture for the state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 2001 to 2003.

Early life and education

From

Mebane, North Carolina Mebane ( ) is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, and partly in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County. The town was named for Alexander Mebane, an American Revolutionary War general and member of the U ...

, she is the daughter of former

North Carolina governor The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a term of four ye ...

Bob Scott and Jessie Rae Scott, as well as the granddaughter of former U.S. Senator and North Carolina Governor W. Kerr Scott. Phipps is a 1978 graduate of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

and a 1981 graduate of the

Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (also known as Campbell Law School or Campbell University School of Law) is a private law school in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1976, the law school is one of six graduate programs o ...

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Christian university in Buies Creek, North Carolina, United States. Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek is home to its College of Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Divinity School, Scho ...

. She also received her Masters in Law in

Agricultural Law Agricultural law, sometimes referred to as Ag Law, deals with such legal issues as agricultural cooperatives, seed, water, fertilizer, pesticide use, agricultural finance, agricultural labour, agricultural marketing, agricultural insurance, far ...

from the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

Career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she was elected to the position of Agriculture Commissioner in November 2000. Controversy erupted less than a month into her term when she selected a new midway vendor for the

North Carolina State Fair The North Carolina State Fair is an American state fair and agricultural Trade fair, exposition held annually in Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1853, the fair is organized by the North Carolina Department of Agricu ...

, replacing a longtime vendor, who immediately filed suit against the state. In May 2001, allegations emerged of inappropriate use of campaign funds from her 2000 campaign.

Resignation and criminal charges

After two campaign aides were

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

and one

pleaded guilty In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

to federal

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

charges,

North Carolina Governor The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a term of four ye ...

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been ...

asked Phipps to resign her position. On June 6, 2003, she resigned and was replaced by interim commissioner Britt Cobb. In October 2003, Phipps was tried and found guilty of

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

and

obstruction of justice In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...

charges; soon afterwards, she

to five of the original 30 federal charges against her, including

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

, and

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficulty ...

. In March 2004, she was sentenced to four years in federal prison and served her sentence at

Alderson Federal Prison Camp The Federal Prison Camp, Alderson (FPC Alderson) is a minimum-security United States federal prison Incarceration of women in the United States, for female inmates in West Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. While in prison, Phipps became friends with

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...

, who was also incarcerated there. While serving her sentence, Phipps taught English and other courses to her fellow inmates.wral.com, April 23, 2007, Meg Scott Phipps Returns Home After Prison Stint by David Crabtree
/ref> She was briefly allowed out to attend her brother Kerr's funeral.

Later life

On April 23, 2007, Phipps was released from prison. Hawfields Presbyterian Church hired her as its director of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

education. Monitored by an ankle bracelet for six months, she could only leave her house to tend to work-related affairs. After three years she was hired by Alamance Community College to teach women's studies and undertook further education at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

, earning a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. She later worked as an administrator for assisted living facilities in Mebane and Chapel Hill before retiring and moving with her husband to Lake Lure in 2017.

Footnotes

Works cited

External links

Collection of news stories about Phipps and the scandal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Meg Scott Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people North Carolina commissioners of agriculture People from Mebane, North Carolina Women in North Carolina politics North Carolina Democrats Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right American people convicted of perjury American people convicted of obstruction of justice Campbell University alumni Wake Forest University alumni American Presbyterians North Carolina politicians convicted of crimes

Meg Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Margaret, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to: People *Meg (singer) (born 1980), Japanese singer *Meg Baird, American musician *Meg Bateman, Scottish writer * Meg Bellamy, British ac ...