KM City Council Member charged with alleged common law forgery

Staff reports | The Shelby Independent

In public documents obtained by the Shelby Independent, Kings Mountain City Council Member Scott Neisler, 71, of Kings Mountain, was charged in Cleveland County with one count of alleged common law forgery.

While the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, public documents show Neisler received a criminal summons on Dec. 10, 2025. The document alleges that on Oct. 10, 2025, Neisler, “On or about the date of offense shown and in the county named above the defendant unlawfully and willfully did utter as true to Fire Inspector Josh Queen a falsely made and forged Certificate of Insurance, which was apparently capable of effecting a fraud because the fireworks display permit was approved. The defendant acted without authority and with the intent to injure and defraud.”

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The complainant is listed as the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations.

On Jan.9, 2026 records indicated the case had been reset by Court for Feb. 12, 2026.

Neisler previously served as mayor of Kings Mountain and most recently ran for an at-large seat of the Kings Mountain City Council, winning the seat on Nov. 4, 2025. He won 47.45% of the vote out of a total of five candidates running and 10 miscellaneous write-ins.

While the defendant is presumed innocent unless otherwise proven guilty in a court of law, in North Carolina, common law forgery is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying a potential sentence of up to 120 days in jail.

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The Shelby Independent