The younger brother of alleged D.C. tax scam mastermind Harriette Walters is expected to plead guilty to his role in the city’s largest ever public corruption scandal, The Examiner has learned.
Richard Walters, 49, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Greenbelt today. According to court records obtained by The Examiner and sources close to the ongoing investigation, the junior Walters will admit that he helped his sister cash and distribute phony property tax refunds at least as early as 2001.
He is the fourth person this month to plead guilty in the D.C. tax scandal, which federal sources said Wednesday may end up costing the public at least $50 million. Authorities have alleged that Harriette Walters used a series of dummy companies to create a luxurious lifestyle and to lavish gaudy gifts on friends and well-wishers.
As part of his plea deal, Richard Walters will hand over nearly $5 million in cash and swag, including two lots in the Caribbean, scads of jewelry, three Ford pickup trucks, a van and a Bentley.
His blind plea comes barely a week after Richard Jones, the Bank of America executive who acted as main bag man for the scheme, agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in a separate plea deal.
The tax scandal has scorched D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, who ran the tax office as the scam was mushrooming. Gandhi is still trying to explain how low-level employees were
able to bilk the public in plain sight for more than a decade and a half.
Richard Walters faces at least 10 years in jail under the plea agreement, sources told The Examiner.
Got a tip on the tax scam? Call Bill Myers at 202-459-4956 or e-mail [email protected]
