D.C.’s largest ever public corruption scandal has claimed two more casualties as a pair of former tax office employees admitted to lying on federal loan applications to buy houses for themselves.
Sheila Jones and Temika Gustus each doctored federal housing documents to help themselves to homes, the pair has admitted in court. Gustus is the daughter of Diane Gustus, another former tax office employee and alleged henchman in the $50 million swindle that has scalded the District government and embarrassed finance chief Natwar Gandhi.
The two were not directly related to the alleged master scheme, which worked by pushing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into private hands through a series of dummy property tax refunds. But authorities alleged in court papers that the money Temika and Jones used to buy their homes came from the tax scam.
The tax scam became public after federal raids last year. Since then, nine people have pleaded guilty to bilking the public. Alleged mastermind Harriette Walters remains locked up.
