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Ex-D.C. elected official charged with stealing city funds

WASHINGTON – A former elected neighborhood leader in the District has been charged with stealing almost $30,000 of city money.

William Shelton, a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 5, has been charged with using his official debit card to pay for more than $28,000 of fraudulent purchases in 2010 and 2011. Shelton reached an agreement with the District last month to repay without interest the money he’d used on items like a Lexus and purchases made at Bloomingdale’s.

Shelton’s attorney, Troy Poole, tells ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ he cannot confirm or deny that his client will plead guilty to the federal charge of “access device fraud,” which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charge comes as several D.C. officials have been the recent subjects of federal probes, including and D.C. Council Chairman .

Last week, former pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 in government funds earmarked for youth sports and arts programs. Thomas has resigned from his council seat.

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report. Follow and on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½. All Rights Reserved.)

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