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Loading ...Iowa Gay Rights Activist Arrested for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
Phyllis Stevens, a compensation specialist for Aviva USA, has been convicted of embezzling $5.9 million dollars from the giant insurance company.
According to The Advocate, she was an employee of 35 years and began her scheme five years ago with her spouse Marla Stevens.Marla, 53, said in a blog the she and Phyllis, 58, married civilly in Toronto in 2003.
The Des Moines Register reported her comments:
“We won’t lie about our marriage on our tax forms, either, filing as married people we are,” she wrote. “We’ve racked up about a million dollars in potential criminal fines and about a hundred years in potential prison time under the old sentencing guidelines between us – so far.”
Allegedly, Stevens wired money into an Indiana Bank account she owned with her wife and finance records show that the couple donated thousands of dollars to local and federal political candidates.
She was arrested in Las Vegas on Friday and is now in custody on charges of federal wire fraud and money laundering.
Phyllis Stevens is a gay rights activist and prior to the arrest, she was a representative for Marriage Equality USA, a gay marriage advocacy group.
