Legal Issues

WA Woman Sentenced to Prison For Stealing Flood Control Taxes

1/9/2023

A Washington State woman has been sentenced to prison for stealing over $400,000 in taxes intended for flood control.

Credit: Feng Wei Photography/Getty Images

Enumclaw-based Joann Thomas, 67, will serve three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for her part in a scam that lasted for seven years.

According to an official release from the IRS, Thomas and her husband, Allan, a drainage district commissioner in East King County for over 35 years, stole $413,323 from 2012 through 2017.

In 2012, Joann set up a joint account with her stepson, Allan's child from a previous marriage. The business account was in the name of a company called A C Services. Until the scheme stopped in 2017, Allan funneled $413,323 of local tax dollars into the account, claiming it was paid to A C Services for drainage ditch maintenance. However, Thomas's son testified that other than two small jobs at the outset in 2012, he did engage in any drainage ditch work. A current drainage district commissioner also testified that that no work was done on the ditches during those years, and that they were in disrepair when he took over his post.

In May 2022, Joann was convicted in a jury trial of 15 federal felonies -- conspiracy; four counts each of wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and four counts of money laundering.

U.S. Attorney Nick Brown weighed in on the case, saying, ""Allan and Joann Thomas didn't just defraud their neighbors by stealing tax dollars, they abused a position of public trust, eroding faith in government."

"The Thomas' theft caused some 700 neighbors in Enumclaw to pay higher property taxes, which many can ill afford, and for which they got no services," Brown continued, "Mr. Thomas also needs to be held accountable at his sentencing next month."

Credit: Chinaface/Getty Images

Allan Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced for 10 federal felonies on February 3, 2023.

His sentencing date was postponed when his attorney claimed he could not adequately represent his client due to illness.

What do you think about the Thomas case?

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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