The Blotter

A former D.C. elected official was sentenced to three years in prison on charges stemming from an insurance fraud scheme involving the theft of his dead brother’s identity. Roscoe Grant Jr., 58, a former Ward 7 advisory neighborhood commissioner and retired D.C. government employee, obtained a false insurance policy in the name of his brother, who was seriously ill, listing himself as the sole beneficiary, prosecutors said. Grant made false representations to Transamerica Life Insurance Company about his brother’s employment status and ability to work, and forged his brother’s signature. After Grant’s brother died in 2005, Grant helped generate fake documents and convinced Transamerica to pay him more than $33,000.

D.C. tax office, businessman sentenced in bribery scam

A former investigator for the D.C. tax office and a Bethesda businessman were sentenced in a bribery scheme that cheated the government out of $100,000, prosecutors said.

Shelly-Ann N. Wicker pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of a bribe by a public official and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution. John F. Craul Jr., former owner of a tax consulting company, pleaded guilty to one count of supplementation of government salary and received three years probation.

Prosecutors said Craul paid Wicker $1,800 in cash, and in return she agreed to approve tax breaks for Craul’s corporate clients.

Vandalism investigated as hate crime

Montgomery County police say a series of vandalisms at a private Bethesda school are being investigated as hate crimes.

Police said eight vandalisms have been reported at Washington Waldorf School, located at 4800 Sangamore Road, since Oct. 15. The act all occurred outside the school and have included graffiti with racial epithets and swastikas, a broken window and fires.

-Scott McCabe and Emily Babay