Federal prosecutors asked Judge W. Earl Britt to keep Howell and Vernice Woltz in jail because they have significant undeclared assets and have moved their primary home to the Bahamas. Prosecutors said they are key figures in a separate international money-laundering case.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg of an international money-laundering investigation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Meyers said. “Millions, literally tens of millions, of dollars are involved in money laundering. It provides an incredible incentive for these defendants to flee.”
The Woltzes are charged with two counts of obstruction and conspiracy to obstruct a lawsuit brought by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Howell Woltz also is charged with tax conspiracy and perjury. Vernice Woltz also is charged with concealing documents.
The Woltzes were charged in a federal indictment unsealed last week in Charlotte. Wilmington tax lawyer Ricky Graves and Raleigh lawyer Sam Currin were also charged after a three-year IRS investigation.
Currin, a former Republican state chairman, was formerly an aide to Sen. Jesse Helms, the United States attorney for Eastern North Carolina and a Superior Court judge until 1990.
The Associated Press
