Metro Briefs

DISTRICT

Maryland woman charged in tax scam

A real estate agent from Prince George’s County has been charged in a scheme that prosecutors think defrauded the D.C. tax office out of nearly $50 million.

Alethia Grooms, 52, of Clinton, was charged in federal court Thursday with possession of stolen property and money laundering. She was charged in a “criminal information,” a document that can only be filed with the defendant’s consent and usually signals a plea deal is near.

Court documents state Miss Grooms became friends with the scheme’s purported ringleader, Harriette Walters, in the 1980s while both were taking classes at the University of the District of Columbia.

The documents state Miss Grooms received fraudulent tax refund checks from Miss Walters as early as June 1989. Prosecutors are seeking to have Miss Grooms repay about $650,000.

MARYLAND

BALTIMORE

Federal detainees increasing at prison

Baltimore’s Supermax prison is getting more federal defendants awaiting trial.

State corrections officials have agreed to house another 96 detainees, bringing the total of federal prisoners at Supermax to 240, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said increasing federal prosecutions has led to more defendants being held without bail. Mr. Rosenstein said the number of detainees rose from an average of 253 a day in 1999 to 532 in May.

The prosecutor said the area does not have a federal pretrial detention center, and the U.S. Marshals Service must transport detainees to court from as many as 20 state, local and county facilities around the state.

Mr. Rosenstein said keeping defendants at Supermax makes it easier for attorneys and families to visit and easier for defendants to testify and cooperate with law enforcement.

CUMBERLAND

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