A pair of D.C. businessmen were found guilty Wednesday of bribing a D.C. tax official to reduce their tax liability by millions of dollars.

Andre De Moya, 54, of Temple Hills, Maryland, and Anthony Merritt, a 48-year-old D.C. resident, were found guilty of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud in their scheme, the Justice Department said 

De Moya owned stakes in several bars and entertainment venues in the city. Merritt was a former employee of the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs who had become a consultant, as well as someone who could help business owners get alcohol licenses and permits quickly.

The other defendants included fellow venue owners Arman Amirshahi and Charles Zhou, and the now-former tax official Vincent Slater. All three have pleaded guilty to the scheme.

Merritt served as a middleman between Slater and the businessmen, who owned stakes in venues including the defunct Cafe Asia and Muse Nightclub, as well as Ultrabar, Echostage, Umaya and Barcode.

All of the businesses were required to pay sales and use taxes monthly, including 10% of gross receipts from the sale of food and drinks.

While Slater was not allowed to make adjustments in the city’s integrated tax system himself, he fraudulently logged in as employees he supervised to make the tax changes paid for by his co-conspirators.

One change in 2015 erased about $216,000 in unpaid tax liability for a business in which Amirshahi and De Moya both had a stake. Later, Slater was paid in cash for making the change, according to the indictment.

Between November 2013 and October 2017, Slater deposited $86,726.56 in cash. Of those deposits, at least 60 were for $500 or more, totaling $75,202.

Merritt and De Moya face up to five years in prison for conspiracy, 15 years in prison for bribery and 20 years in prison for wire fraud. De Moya is set to be sentenced on Oct. 17, while Merritt is slated for sentencing on Oct. 23.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.