D.C. vacant-property owner ordered to pay $1.8 million for tax evasion

Owners of vacant and blighted properties in the District are charged a significantly higher tax rate to motivate owners to keep properties in use. The lawsuit alleged that Papageorge had made false statements claiming the building was occupied for many years to avoid paying the increased taxes. Specifically, Racine alleged that Papageorge was in violation of city’s False Claims Act, which was amended by the D.C. Council in 2021 to include tax-related offenses.

Now, after what Schwalb’s office described as “lengthy and contested litigation,” a D.C. Superior Court judge has ordered Papageorge to pay owed taxes that date back to 2008, in addition to damages for violating the False Claims Act and other penalties. Schwalb’s office said the judgment stems from $389,561 in unpaid vacant property taxes accumulated over a 15-year period.

Papageorge could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

“For at least 16 years, Papageorge continuously violated the law by refusing to pay the required tax on vacant homes even as his property sat boarded up, overgrown, with crumbling masonry, a visibly decaying roof, and vacancy notices pasted on top of vacancy notices from previous years,” Schwalb’s office said in a news release.

News of the ruling quickly garnered positive reaction on social media from members of the community who have long sought some type of action against the property’s owner. In a social media post, D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said he and his neighbors were thrilled by the outcome.

“Long vacant properties like this are drags on vibrancy & safety of neighborhoods — they are a big problem rather than being a home,” Allen wrote. “This outcome is a warning to landlords who aren’t acting responsibly with an empty property & especially those that try to lie and cheat the District.”