William Holder, a Wake County businessman and brother of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Friday officially became a member of the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges.

Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Holder to an at-large seat on the board. His term expires in June 2023.

Holder owns several McDonald’s franchises in North Carolina and New York. In 2012, a Carolina Journal investigation found at least one of the franchises in Raleigh owned by William Holder and his wife Deborah apparently had hired illegal immigrants — including at a location in Knightdale the then-attorney general visited several months earlier.

An email purportedly from William Holder offered a blanket denial but didn’t answer specific questions about the observations and conclusions CJ made in its investigation. The email sender also did not respond to an email or phone calls from CJ requesting further details.