WASHINGTON — A 71-year-old D.C. woman was sentenced to a year-and-a-half in prison on Tuesday for her involvement in a scheme to steal and embezzle money from a nonprofit she was entrusted to run for the benefit of some of the District’s economically disadvantaged residents.
Rowena Joyce Scott, a minister and the former head of the Ward 8 Democrats, was convicted following a June 2023 trial on charges of wire fraud, credit card fraud, filing false tax returns, and failing to file tax returns.
In addition to serving prison time, Scott is ordered to serve an additional two years of supervised release and to pay the restitution amount of $153,432.04 to the Park Southern Neighborhood Corporation (PSNC) and $47,726 to the Internal Revenue Service. Scott was also ordered to forfeit a $153,432.04 criminal money judgement.
According to investigators, from January 2010 to May 2014, Scott served as president of the board of directors and manager of PSNC, a nonprofit corporation that owned and operated the Park Southern apartment complex in Southeast. She was hired to serve PSNC's mission of providing adequate, safe, affordable housing for the District’s underhoused and underprivileged residents.
Instead, Scott was involved in a scheme through which she embezzled at least $125,000 from the organization’s coffers and used nearly $30,000 in additional funds to make purely personal, unauthorized purchases from third-party vendors. All the while, Scott collected $260,000 in total as her salary, about $60,000 per year, lived in the building rent-free, and used the property’s common rooms, free of charge, to operate her own ministry. Scott failed to report all of the income she received from PSNC for tax purposes, legitimate or otherwise.
Investigators say also under her watch, PSNC failed to finish renovations for the Americans with Disabilities Act compliant units and failed to make loan payments to the District.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the DC Office of Tax and Revenue, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Lallas.
WATCH NEXT:
Do you have a news tip on this story or any other story? We want to hear from you. Tell us about it by emailing newstips@wusa9.com.
MORE WAYS TO GET WUSA9
DOWNLOAD THE WUSA9 APP
Apple App Store: WUSA9 News on Apple
Google Play Store: WUSA9 News on Android
HOW TO ADD THE FREE WUSA9+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WUSA9.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "WUSA9" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE WUSA9 NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our daily WUSA9 Newsletter for top stories from WUSA9 curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Commanders content, weather, and more delivered right to your inbox.