Results tagged “sentence”

The Post reported this afternoon that one more sentence has been handed down in the Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement case. Walter R. Jones Jr., 34, the former Bank of America assistant branch manager who helped Harriette Walters deposit a total of 61 checks totaling almost $18 million, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison today. Jones received approximately $360,000 from Walters for his participation in the scheme, a relatively small sum compared to his cohorts, who all together stole at least $50 million from District taxpayers. By all accounts Jones has been contrite and cooperative since his arrest and subsequent guilty plea, but he received a sentence roughly in the middle of the federal sentencing guidelines. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. noted in his decision that were it not for Jones and his position at Bank of America, "the scheme would not have continued for so long."

Add one more to the growing list of folks involved in the massive Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement scandal who have been sentenced to prison time. Marilyn Yoon, the Neiman Marcus saleswoman who was Harriette Walters' personal shopper, was sentenced yesterday to one year in jail. Yoon pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of property obtained by fraud, and also agreed to forfeit her home. The U.S. attorney's office said that Yoon should be credited with coming forward right away and expressing regret, and recommended the relatively lenient 12-month sentence.

Two more sentences have been handed down in the epic story of the Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement case. The Post reports that Patricia Steven, 73, has been sentenced to five years and two months in prison for her role in the scam, while her estranged husband, Robert, 55, got three years and 10 months. Patricia Steven was a friend of Harriette Walters, and became involved in the embezzlement ring as early as 1990. Robert Steven appears to have received a lighter sentence due to his cooperation with prosecutors and claim that he was misled by his wife about where the money was coming from. The Stevens helped steal about $8 million of the roughly $50 million believed to have been taken in the Walters scam.

The Hill reports that Michael Gorbey, the Virginia man who was convicted on weapons charges stemming from his January arrest for carrying a loaded shot gun and a samurai sword with him around Capitol Hill, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. That's a pretty staggering sentence, which is the result of Gorbey's conviction on 14 charges, including one for possessing and transporting a "weapon of mass destruction." A couple of weeks after his arrest, police searching Gorbey's vehicle discovered he had also brought the components needed to construct a bomb with him.