Cumberland County Businessman Pleads Guilty To State Tax Charges

On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, a Cumberland County businessman pleaded guilty in Wake County Superior Court to seven felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue. Christopher Harrison, 58, of Fayetteville, pleaded guilty to seven counts of Attempt to Evade or Defeat a Tax.

Superior Court Judge C. Douglas Green sentenced Harrison to an eight-month minimum, 19-month maximum prison term. The sentence was suspended, and Harrison was placed on supervised probation for 18 months. While on probation, Harrison is ordered to pay $714,425.68 in restitution.

Information presented in court showed that Harrison attempted to evade or defeat North Carolina Individual Income Tax by filing fraudulent North Carolina Individual Income Tax Returns for tax years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, in violation of North Carolina General Statute §105-236(a)(7). Harrison willfully and knowingly omitted over $24,000,000 in taxable income that was of material fact on his North Carolina Individual Income Tax Returns for the corresponding tax years.

In December 2010, Harrison became the CEO/CFO of EbenConcepts, which was an insurance corporation dealing in employee benefit packages. During an internal review of EbenConcepts' accounting records, it was discovered that Harrison had been taking excessive amounts of money for personal use. As a result, Harrison was subsequentially removed as the CEO/CFO of EbenConcepts. Harrison then filed for bankruptcy protection through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. During the bankruptcy proceeding Harrison admitted that he was using business funds to pay for his personal expenses.

In 2022, Harrison pleaded guilty to willfully filing a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service in violation of 26 U.S.C. §7206(1). Harrison was ordered to pay approximately $4.6 million in restitution and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The charges against Harrison resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department's Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh and was prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions attorneys in the office of the Attorney General.