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Roweshea L. Burruss’s biggest claim to fame is that he’s an associate of Washington Mayor Marion Barry; his biggest claim to infamy is that he’s allegedly got his fingers into way more pockets than his own.
At least three separate financial schemes are attributed to Burruss. In one, he is accused of depositing worthless checks from a Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd. account into a NationsBank account. The check-kiting scheme involved checks issued on a failed tuna business that was supposed to be selling fish products to hotels and a District youth fundraising program, Champs Against Violence, that Burruss claims to run.
The account at NationsBank was held jointly with Burruss’s girlfriend, D.C. police officer Carmen Maria Sola. Both Burruss and Sola (who is currently on administrative leave from her job while the investigation proceeds) claim that Sola was unaware of the kiting activities. NationsBank was hit for eight checks totaling $42,000 in the scam.
Then there is the troubling relationship between Burruss and Bethesda lawyer Richard H. Tanenbaum. It is alleged that Burruss had Tanenbaum make deposits of four counterfeit checks into an escrow account during April and May. The checks were drawn on Nations Credit of Springfield and made payable to Tanenbaum. Burruss then allegedly instructed the lawyer on how to spend the money – nearly $216,400.
And in his spare time…
Enter Gary Stiles, a “partner” who may have used his computer for a task it was never intended for: issuing counterfeit checks. Stiles has admitted to investigators that he took a legitimate $10 check from NationsBank and used it as a model. His initial artistic endeavor produced a $5,513 effort; however, he was arrested when he attempted to cash the check at a Wheaton check-cashing firm. Stiles then agreed to cooperate with police and allowed agents to record a telephone conversation in which he and Burruss discussed how to divide the proceeds from the first check and the how to go about cashing a second check Stiles was producing for $10,000.
Burruss, son of a minister, claims to be a man of the cloth himself. He has a criminal record for theft, writing bad checks and carrying a pistol without a license.
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