Former Baltimore County insurance agent, financial advisor charged with obstruction of justice

BALTIMORE, MD—A former Baltimore County insurance agent and financial advisor has been charged with obstruction of justice and fabricating physical evidence, marking the fourth set of criminal charges filed against him since September 2024, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced. The new charges, filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, allege that Michael C. Okolo, 68, of Parkville, […]

Former Maryland legislative aide sentenced for stealing scholarship funds

ANNAPOLIS, MD—A former legislative aide in the Maryland State Senate has been sentenced to four consecutive weekends in jail and two years of supervised probation for stealing funds allocated for legislative scholarships. Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced Wednesday that Esther Dikongue received the sentence from Circuit Court Judge Stacy W. McCormack in Anne Arundel County. Upon completion […]

Baltimore County man pleads guilty to bribing state employee for contracts

BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore County man has pleaded guilty to bribing a state employee to secure contracts for his company, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced on Monday. Mark Anthony Sykes, 51, of Randallstown, admitted to paying approximately $20,000 in bribes to the former Director of General Services for the Maryland Department of Labor. In exchange, the official helped steer […]

Former Maryland legislative aide pleads guilty to scholarship fund theft

UPDATE: Esther Dikongue has been sentenced. Original story below… BALTIMORE, MD—A former legislative aide in the Maryland State Senate pleaded guilty to felony theft scheme on Wednesday for stealing legislative scholarship funds, according to Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III. Esther Dikongue used her position to allocate scholarship funds to herself without authorization from the Senator she worked for. […]

Former Maryland State Trooper pleads guilty to drug, bribery charges

BALTIMORE, MD—A former Maryland State Trooper pleaded guilty to federal drug and bribery charges after trying to sell information to a drug trafficking organization, federal authorities announced. Justin Riggs, 35, of Smithsburg, conspired to sell information to a drug trafficking organization, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland reports. Riggs pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to […]

Former Baltimore Department Of Finance employee sentenced To 4 years in connection with bribery, COVID-19 CARES Act scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A former Baltimore City employee has been sentenced to prison after being sentenced for a bribery and wire fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Joseph Gillespie, 35, of Baltimore City, to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release in connection with a bribery scheme and conspiracy to commit wire fraud scheme involving […]

Maryland aide charged in $20K theft of legislative scholarship funds

UPDATE: Esther Dikongue has been sentenced. Original story below… BALTIMORE, MD—A former Maryland State Senate legislative aide has been charged with felony theft and unauthorized access to a computer system for stealing legislative scholarship funds, according to Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III. Esther Dikongue is accused of using her position to allocate $20,000 in scholarship funds from a […]

U.S. Army research biologist from Maryland sentenced To 51 months in prison for engaging in APG bribery scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A U.S. Army biologist from Maryland will be spending time behind bars for participating in a bribery scheme. Jason Edmonds, 45 of North East, was sentenced this week to 51 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bribery at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. In addition, the Court ordered Edmonds to forfeit $111,794.83, […]