A Wake County grand jury charged Wright, a former political ally of disgraced ex-House Speaker Jim Black, with five counts of obtaining property by false pretense and a sixth on obstruction of justice. Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby said Wright is expected to make an initial court appearance within the next few days.

Wright left his house in Wilmington and drove away in a sport utility vehicle Monday afternoon without speaking to reporters, according to WECT-TV. Wright did not return messages from The Associated Press left on his cell phone and at his legislative office.

Willoughby's office has been investigating Wright since May, when the eight-term lawmaker from New Hanover County refused to answer questions at a hearing before the State Board of Elections, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination. In the months since, Wright has steadfastly refused calls from some colleagues to resign.

"I think it's a disgrace for North Carolina. It's a disgrace for Wilmington," state Sen. Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, told WECT. "I wish he would step down so we could have somebody in there who could help us."

The investigation took so long to complete because it took time to collect bank records and other evidence, Willoughby said.

The most serious fraud charge in the indictment mirrors the allegations raised at the May hearing, namely that Wright persuaded a state Department of Health and Human Services administrator to write a 2002 letter to Coastal Federal Bank to help the community health foundation Wright led obtain a $150,000 loan.

The letter said the foundation wanted to purchased a historic city building and open a museum commemorating the city's 1898 race riot, and would soon receive a $150,000 state grant. There was no such grant. Wright used the letter to fraudulently obtain the bank loan, the indictment states.

Torlen Wade, the administrator who wrote the letter, no longer works for the department. He has not been charged with any crimes, and Willoughby said Monday he does not expect to charge anyone else in the case.

The indictment also states that Wright falsely applied for a business line of credit for the foundation at a local credit union, but never told foundation directors he had received $9,980 from that loan for his personal use.

Wright is also accused of falsely obtaining $8,900 from three companies by contending the money would be used for the foundation's charitable work. But the money "was converted to the use and benefit of the defendant," according to the indictment.

The donating companies, identified as AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. and AT&T Corp., falsely believed they would receive a tax break for the giving, the indictment states.

The obstruction of justice charge alleges that Wright failed to report on campaign reports about $185,000 in campaign contributions between 2000 and earlier this year. Wright used that money for his own benefit, according to the indictment.

The Legislative Ethics Committee also began investigating Wright's actions soon after the elections board referred his case to Willoughby's office. The panel has delayed its probe, but could ultimately recommend punishments against Wright, including removal from office.

"The allegations in this case date back several years and don't reflect on the many good things we did this past legislative session," House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said in a statement.

With an otherwise clean record, Wright faces a sentence of up to 7 2/3 years in prison on the fraud charge related to the bank loan. Each of the other four fraud counts and the obstruction court carry a maximum penalty of eight months in prison.

Wright, 52, once served as a top lieutenant to Black and continued to support him even as the speaker faced investigations into his own campaign finances. Black is currently serving a five-year prison sentence on federal corruption charges.

"Like his political godfather, Jim Black, Rep. Wright is an embarrassment to the state and no longer deserves to be in the General Assembly," said Joe Sinsheimer, a former Democratic consultant who filed the original elections board complaint against Wright and once ran a Web site calling for Black's ouster.