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Phipps faces additional charges in extortion case
RALEIGH - Former state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps faces two additional federal charges tied to allegations that she extorted money from state fair vendors to pay off her campaign debt.
A revised indictment returned by a grand jury Thursday accuses Mrs. Phipps of accepting $2,000 in cash from a food vendor at the 2001 N.C. State Fair. The allegations resulted in an additional charge of extortion and an additional charge of bribery against Mrs. Phipps.
The vendor wasn't named in the indictment, and prosecutors weren't permitted to release it, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina said Thursday.
Mrs. Phipps, the daughter and granddaughter of North Carolina governors, now faces 30 federal charges in addition to several state charges.
She has pleaded not guilty to state perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
The federal charges against her include fraud, conspiracy and witness tampering. She has not yet entered a plea to the federal charges.
Mrs. Phipps' trial on the state charges is scheduled to begin Oct. 20.
Her arraignment in federal court, at which time she is expected to enter a plea, is set for Nov. 10.
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