Feds: RI divorcee seeks $1.7M marital deduction

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Rhode Island woman has been accused by federal prosecutors of trying to have a divorce judgment thrown out so her ex-husband's estate could claim a $1.7 million marital deduction.

A civil complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Providence says Johnston resident Jo-Ann DerManouelian sought to have her divorce voided after officials notified the estate it owed the $1.7 million in taxes and $1.1 million in penalties.

She's an administrator of the estate of businessman Aram DerManouelian, who died in 2006. She says he fraudulently obtained the divorce.

A state court spokesman says she filed a motion last month to toss out the 1994 divorce judgment.

Her husband founded American Foam Corp., which sold the foam blamed for fueling a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people. The company agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle lawsuits.