A nephew of the alleged mastermind of the D.C. tax office scandal was indicted on Monday, the first person to be formally charged by a grand jury in the largest government theft in the city’s history.
Ricardo Walters, 32, of Fort Washington, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., on charges that he was part of the scheme to bilk tens of millions of dollars from the District of Columbia.
Authorities said Walters set up a sham corporate bank account under the name of Provident Home Services and fraudulently deposited a D.C. government check worth $375,815 in September 2006. At least six bogus property tax refunds were deposited into an account controlled by Walters, according to charging documents.
Walters faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. His arraignment has not been scheduled.
Ten people have been arrested in the tax office scheme since Nov. 7, including the alleged ringleader, Harriette Walters, the former manager of the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue.
Authorities are required to charge suspects formally within 30 days of their arrest unless speedy trial rights are waived.
Prosecutors asked for an additional 90 days to consider the case against those charged in the tax office case because they said the investigation requires the review of governmental and financial records that date to at least 1990. Ricardo Walters was the only defendant to demand his right to a speedy trial.
Others charged in the scheme include a bank worker, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor, a second tax office worker and several members of Walters’ family.
Prosecutors have acknowledged publicly that the investigation has recovered only about $8 million of the at least $20 million embezzled from the city’s treasury. Authorities are concerned that some of the missing money was deposited in overseas bank accounts, making it difficult to trace.
The federal government has seized at least three international bank accounts, including from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Harriette Walters was born.
