Ex-U.S. Attorney Accused of Tax Fraud

A former U.S. attorney who later headed the North Carolina Republican Party and was a state judge was arrested Tuesday after being indicted in a tax fraud conspiracy, federal prosecutors said.

Sam Currin, now a private criminal attorney, was one of four people charged after a sting by investigators for the Internal Revenue Service.

The four were involved with abusing financial trusts created under Caribbean companies to avoid U.S. taxes, U.S. Atty. Gretchen Shappert said.

Also charged were tax attorney Ricky Graves and Howell Way Woltz and his wife, Vernice, a North Carolina couple who headed offshore financial companies.

Currin, 57, and the others were charged with devising foreign financial arrangements, including preparing false documents, so that “wealthy United States citizens could evade federal income taxation,” according to the indictment.

Currin was charged with obstruction of justice and witness tampering, as well as perjury in a related grand jury investigation of securities fraud.

His attorney did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Graves also did not return a call, and no phone number could be found for the Woltzes.

Currin and Graves appeared in court Tuesday and were released on $100,000 bond each.

A federal grand jury indicted Currin and the others this month, prosecutors said. If convicted on all charges, Currin could be sentenced to as much as 60 years in prison.

Currin was an aide to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. He was U.S. attorney for eastern North Carolina from 1981 to 1987, state GOP chairman from 1996 to 1999 and a judge until 1990. Since then, he has represented criminal defendants in federal courts.