RALEIGH — A federal grand jury has indicted two former aides to Agricultural Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, a U.S. attorney said at a press conference Tuesday.

The charges against Linda Johnson Saunders, of Louisburg, and Bobby C. McLamb, of Raleigh, include conspiracy, extortion, wire fraud, and mail fraud, said Frank Whitney, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The charges are related to the 2000 Meg Scott Phipps Campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture. Saunders was treasurer of the campaign. She was appointed special assistant to the commissioner as a paid employee of the Department of Agriculture after Phipps took office. Saunders resigned for health reasons Dec. 1, 2002.

She is charged with five counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud in connection with post-election fund-raising to pay off the campaign debt of McLamb, who was Phipps’s Democratic primary opponent.

She is also charged with money laundering and structuring transactions to avoid federal currency reporting requirements including the handling of $26,000 in cash from a Phipps fund-raiser.

One scheme detailed in the indictment included post-election contributions solicited and received by the Phipps campaign that were diverted to pay McLamb’s $75,000 Centura Bank Loan and $25,000 BB&T bank loan. Saunders concealed the diversion of the funds by filing false reports with the state Board of Elections, according to the indictment.

McLamb joined Phipps’s campaign after he lost to her in the primary. Phipps appointed McLamb assistant commissioner of agriculture after she won the general election. Phipps fired McLamb on Jan. 31, 2002.

Phipps and McLamb both had significant input into the operation of the State Fair, according to the indictment. Both are charged with violating the Hobbs Act, a federal statute that prohibits state officials from using their official power to extort money from people who have dealings with the state.

Shortly after Phipps was inaugurated in January 2001 news reports raised questions about her fund-raising. In June 2002 the State Board of Elections held a three-day hearing and fined the Phipps campaign $130,000 for campaign finance violations. Law-enforcement officials then took interest.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation. “This office and the U. S. Department of Justice remain committed to investigating all credible allegations of public corruption,” Whitney said. He would not comment on whether Phipps would be charged, but he said the investigation will continue. On Thursday, a lawyer for Saunders suggested that the number and magnitude of the charges against his client were designed to put additional pressure on a potential witness against Phipps. “Everybody knows that’s what the government hopes,” he said.

Phipps issued the following statement in response to speculation about future indictments:

“It is my understanding that today’s indictments are part of an ongoing investigation. As a result it would be inappropriate for me to comment about today’s announcement at this time. I would, however, like to say that I have faith in our system of justice and that we have cooperated fully throughout all phases of this investigation and will continue to do so. My focus continues to be on the many critical issues facing agriculture in our state and nation and doing the best job I can for the voters who elected me.”

Carrington is associate publisher of Carolina Journal.