Forsyth County businessman Joseph Edward Curran, 54, of Winston-Salem, was charged today with eight counts of Embezzlement of State Property. He was arrested earlier in the day on felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Indictments allege that Curran, owner of Curran Hospitality Group, Inc., doing business as 1703 Restaurant & Catering, aided and abetted the business to embezzle, misapply, and convert to its own use approximately $82,937.91 in North Carolina Sales Taxes (State & Forsyth County) from February 1, 2014, through December 31, 2021. During this period, Curran was a responsible person of Curran Hospitality Group, Inc., and was under a duty to collect, hold in trust, and remit North Carolina and Forsyth County Sales Tax to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Curran appeared before a Forsyth County magistrate and was released with a written promise to appear in court. A first appearance is scheduled for October 21, 2024, in Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh.

The charges against Curran resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigation Division in Raleigh.