Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that a Severn man was indicted in an overtime theft scheme. Charges in the indictment include a theft scheme between $25,000 – $100,000, 32 counts of theft, and misconduct in office. The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
The investigation revealed that since July of 2019, the suspect, a lieutenant of DPSCS, was engaged in a scheme to steal overtime from the State of Maryland. As the supervisor of the Jessup firearms range, he was responsible for the firearms training and recertification of employees of DPSCS. On his timesheet, the lieutenant would falsely claim approximately 80 hours of overtime each pay period. He would indicate that he was working in one of the guard towers at JCI or MCIJ, two nearby Maryland correctional facilities. As a supervisor, he was able to subvert the normal overtime process and receive payment with no supporting paperwork or use of DPSCS’ biometric clock-in system.
Once the scheme was discovered, investigators of the DPSCS were able to perform anticipatory surveillance of the suspect. During time periods for which he later falsely claimed to be working overtime in a surveillance tower, he was observed to be at home, running errands, walking his dog, and other personal activities. Documentation kept in the Maryland correctional facilities showed that different employees actually worked the overtime shifts the lieutenant falsely claimed he worked. In total, during the course of the scheme he stole approximately $74,000.
The suspect “stole taxpayer dollars by falsely claiming a large amount of overtime,” said Attorney General Frosh. “When state employees lie about the hours they work, they are stealing from the honest, hardworking public servants and the taxpayers whom they serve.”
“Corrections and community supervision are all about integrity,” says DPSCS Secretary Robert Green. “We initiated this investigation and moved aggressively, contacting the Office of the Attorney General as soon as we learned there may have been improprieties.”
The defendant’s arraignment will be set in Anne Arundel County.
In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Frosh thanked Organized Crime Chief Katie Dorian, Assistant Attorney General Paul Halliday, Assistant Attorney General Zachary Norfolk, and Detective Sergeant Michael Baier of the DPSCS. Attorney General Frosh thanked Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
A criminal indictment is merely an accusation of wrongdoing, and a defendant is presumed innocent until the State proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
