SEATTLE – Federal authorities are seeking to auction off silver goblets, snakeskin coats, a dozen guns and hundreds of gold coins seized from a former Washington state couple who have been extradited to Romania to face tax evasion charges.
Seattlepi.com reports (http://is.gd/ZOX7F5 ) prosecutors filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last week seeking permission to sell the property.
Radu and Diana Nemes were returned to their native Romania from Yelm, about 60 miles south of Seattle, following their March arrest. They're accused of conspiring to avoid paying $68 million in taxes on sales of diesel fuel.
Investigators found an underground bunker when they searched the couple's properties in Yelm. They say the couple used laundered money to pay for a $3 million log home while running shell businesses in Washington.
It's not clear whether the couple intends to fight the government's efforts.
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Information from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www.seattlepi.com/
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