An Enumclaw woman was sentenced in federal court for her part in a scheme to steal tax dollars intended for flood control, according to the Department of Justice.
Joann Thomas, 67, was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release after her convictions of conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, identity theft and money laundering.
Her husband, Allan Thomas, is the former Commissioner of an East King County drainage district. His sentencing has been postponed until February.
According to a media release, the Thomases were involved in the fraud scheme for seven years.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “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. Mr. Thomas also needs to be held accountable at his sentencing next month.”
According to a media release, Allan Thomas served as commissioner for more than 35 years, estimating the costs of drainage maintenance for the district. Around 2021, Joann Thomas opened a joint bank business account where Allan Thomas had $413,323 of local tax dollars deposited, claiming it was for drainage ditch maintenance.
The current drainage district commissioner testified no work was done on ditches during that time and when he took the job, little maintenance had been done for years.
Records admitted during the trial showed the deposited money was transferred to other accounts and the Thomases used the funds for mortgage payments, hay and property taxes. More than $68,000 was withdrawn as cash.
In 2018, when the Thomases became aware of of an investigation, they opened a second bank account and continued the scheme.
Discussions on the total amount of restitution have been scheduled for March 2023.
©2023 Cox Media Group
