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Rowena Joyce Scott, 71, was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison for a scheme to steal money from a corporation she was entrusted to run which was created to aid some of the District's economically-challenged residents.
According to prosecutors, Scott – a minister and the former head of the Ward 8 Democrats – was convicted following a June 2023 jury trial on charges of wire fraud, credit card fraud, filing false tax returns, and failing to file tax returns.
Between January 2010 and May 2014, Scott served as the president of the board of directors and managers of Park Southern Neighborhood Corporation (PNSC), which operated affordable housing in a Southeast DC apartment complex.
"Scott was hired to serve PSNC’s charitable mission of providing adequate, safe, affordable housing for the District’s under-housed and underprivileged residents," prosecutors said.
Instead, Scott engaged 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.
While conspiring, Scott was also collecting $260,000 in "salary" - approximately $60,000 annually - lived in the building rent-free, and used the property’s common rooms, free of charge, to operate her own ministry.
Prosecutors say that Scott failed to report all of the income she received from PSNC – legitimate or otherwise – for tax purposes, while at the same time, the organization failed to finish renovations for Americans-with- Disabilities-Act compliant units and failed to make loan payments to the District.
In addition to her prison term, Scott was also ordered by a judge to serve 24 months of supervised release and to pay $153,432.04 to the PSNC, $47,726 to the IRS in restitution, while forfeiting $153,432.04 in criminal cash.
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