An IRS manager and his estranged wife were charged with receiving $2.8 million as part of the growing D.C. property tax scheme in which tens of millions of dollars were embezzled from the District’s coffers.
The arrests broaden the scope of the federal investigation, revealing new avenues that authorities say the thieves used to cash and hide illegally gotten six-figure government checks.
Robert O. Steven, 54, and Patricia A. Steven, 72, appeared separately in federal court in Greenbelt Thursday afternoon.
They are accused of cashing at least 11 checks totaling $2.8 million. The checks were issued to sham companies with variations of the name “Bellarmine.”
The Examiner last month revealed that Bellarmine was a bogus company and that at least $2.4 million in fraudulent checks were routed to it dating back to 1999. The checks were for amounts up to $490,000.
The Stevens are relatives of Harriette Walters, the former D.C. tax and revenue office boss and alleged ringleader of the massive scam, according to court documents.
Robert Steven, of Edgewater, Md., is a 32-year Internal Revenue Service employee and division director at the national tax office in New Carrollton, where he earned $143,471 a year.
Federal court documents showed his IRS office was searched. But officials have not commented on whether they believe he used his position to further the scam.
In the last four years, he purchased four Jaguar cars totaling $257,866, authorities said. His most recent purchase was a 2007 convertible model priced at almost $97,000.
Federal officials quoted a cooperating witness as saying that Patricia Steven, of Harwood, Md., and Walters were classmates at Georgetown University. The women would often go on thousand-dollar shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus,according to court documents.
Last year, Walters and Patricia Steven purchased a New Jersey residence together. Steven then transferred her part of the home to her daughter Stephanie, according to court documents. Walters and Stephanie Steven then purchased another New Jersey home for $885,000.
The homes and automobiles were seized by federal authorities.
In early December, federal officers secretly placed a Global Positioning System device in Robert Steven’s car to track his movements. At her court appearance, Patricia Steven appeared nervously chatty, saying, “I’ll talk about anything.” Several times the judge had to politely call time out to get her to stop talking.
Robert Steven came in next, subdued and sluggish. “I don’t know what to do about work,” he said.
The pair are the ninth and 10th suspects arrested in connection with what authorities say is the largest government financial scam in the city’s history. They each face up to 10 years in prison.
