CORRECTION

A report on Page 1A Wednesday on the indictment of former U.S. Attorney Sam Currin incorrectly described his wife Margaret's job at Campbell University's law school. She is an associate dean and professor.

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Former U.S. Attorney Sam Currin walked into the courthouse Tuesday where he prosecuted criminals in the 1980s, this time facing charges of his own.

Federal prosecutors said Currin, a familiar face in the state's political and legal circles, was involved in a scheme to help people set up offshore bank accounts, offshore credit cards and foreign trusts, all to help them evade federal income tax.

They also accused Currin, 57, of Raleigh, of lying to and withholding evidence from a federal grand jury in Charlotte that is investigating a complex securities fraud scheme.

Currin faces seven felony charges, including tax conspiracy, witness tampering and perjury.

The 36-page indictment unsealed Tuesday also charged Wilmington lawyer Ricky E. Graves and Howell Way Woltz and Vernice Chaitan Woltz, a husband-and-wife business team from Advance, in the same tax conspiracy. Raleigh lawyer Robert S. Wellons and Coyt Murray of Tega Cay, S.C., are not listed in the indictment but were charged in connection with the scheme, prosecutors said.

"Sometimes persons involved in elaborate criminal financial schemes believe they can avoid federal law enforcement by moving their operations offshore," U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert, who prosecutes crimes in Western North Carolina, said in a statement. "However, this is not true."

Currin, a protege of former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, is well-known in conservative Republican politics in North Carolina. His connections were on display in his law office, which has featured photographs of Currin with such luminaries as Helms, former President Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Helms nominated Currin, who had worked for him as an aide in Washington, to be U.S. attorney for the Eastern District. Currin held that position from 1981 to 1987. Helms then nominated Currin's wife, Margaret, to succeed him.

Helms also nominated Currin to be a federal judge -- although he was never confirmed. Currin went on to serve as a state Superior Court judge but failed to win election to the N.C. Supreme Court.

More recently, Currin was active in Republican politics. He was elected state GOP chairman in 1996 as a self-described reform candidate. Currin supporters had cited the tax problems of his two immediate predecessors as one reason there needed to be a change at GOP headquarters.

He lost a re-election bid to former U.S. Rep. Bill Cobey in 1999. Critics at the time charged that Currin was too doctrinaire on such questions as abortion and was unwilling to open the party to people with other views.

Currin closed his Raleigh law office within the past couple of months.

The news surprised those who knew Currin from law and politics.

"You're kidding me?" said state Republican Party chairman Ferrell Blount. "You mean, Sam Currin, who was party chairman? I'm speechless, and I'm not speechless much."

Initial appearances

Currin and Graves had their initial appearances Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Raleigh. Currin's wife, a former dean of Campbell University's law school, sat in the front row. Neither of the Currins would talk after court.

Currin's attorney, Mark Calloway, a former U.S. attorney in Charlotte, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Currin and Graves were each released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.

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