IRS moves to seize former Arlington city employee’s property

The prosecution of a former Arlington city employee will be conducted on a federal rather than a local level, according to Snohomish County prosecutors.

Terry Davis, who spent many of her 32 years with the city of Arlington as its assistant finance director, has been accused of embezzling as much as $775,000.

Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis reported that, to her knowledge, any prosecution of Davis would be out of the county’s hands now that the IRS is trying to seize Davis’ property.

IRS officials filed a “verified complaint for forfeiture in rem” at the U.S. District Court in Seattle Aug. 18, in an attempt to have two properties owned by Davis forfeited to the government. This followed an Aug. 4 search of Davis’ home and bank by Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives.

Davis retired from the city of Arlington on May 31 of this year, and the investigation of Davis was prompted when a city accountant found a suspicious check July 11, made out to Davis. Further investigation determined that Davis issued approximately 103 unauthorized checks to herself from city funds.

According to court documents filed by the IRS, Davis began issuing these unauthorized checks to herself no later than February of 2002, and continued to do so through June of this year. The amount deposited into her bank account in 2007 alone was $182,000.

According to the paperwork filed in District Court, when interviewed by sheriff’s detectives Aug. 4, Davis confessed to issuing these checks to herself, as well as to using those funds to pay the mortgages on the properties that the IRS is seeking to have forfeited. Property that is constituted or derived from proceeds traceable to mail fraud is subject to forfeiture.

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