NC failed to ensure $3.1B in federal COVID-19 relief funds were properly spent, audit says (Source: HNN) By CBS 17 Digital Desk | May 13, 2021 at 3:26 PM EDT - Updated May 13 at 3:26 PM RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina did not perform the necessary monitoring to ensure $3.1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds were spent properly, according to an audit released Thursday. State Auditor Beth Wood said her office found that the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office waited until November to independently verify spending from the CARES Act funds. “As a result, there was an increased risk that recipients could have misused the finds without the misuse being detected and corrected timely,” the audit says.