MARYLAND NEWS

The Maryland Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed lawsuits brought by Baltimore City, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County against more than two dozen oil and gas giants, dealing a blow to local efforts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for damages from climate change…Baltimore first sued 26 fossil fuel companies — including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and the American Petroleum Institute — in 2018, alleging that the industry had misled the public for decades about the causes of climate change. While jurisdictions argued they filed suits focused on the firms’ deceptive marketing practices about climate change, the state Supreme Court disagreed, determining that the local governments were actually trying to regulate interstate emissions, which rests solely with the federal government, under the federal Clean Air Act. Source: thebanner.com and marylandmatters.org 

A proposal meant to strengthen oversight for Maryland’s inspectors general has stalled in Annapolis, even as a separate measure expanding access to sensitive juvenile records moves quickly toward approval...The bill would guarantee Maryland’s inspectors general access to public documents... "I can’t do the job when I’m given documents that look like this,” Cumming said while pointing to heavily redacted public documents...Despite bipartisan support, House Bill 1620 stalled in the Rules Committee, where members have not yet voted on the measure. WBFF via msn.com

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit reached a settlement with CVR Management, LLC, to resolve allegations that the company’s multistate network of vascular medicine clinics billed government health programs for medically unnecessary vein treatment procedures. Source: oag.maryland.gov 

Between 2014 and 2024, the Pennsylvania man fraudulently obtained over $2.5 million from the State of Maryland by concealing his ownership of childcare centers and inflating attendance records. Smalls’ fraud began after the Maryland State Department of Education revoked his childcare certificate of registration and refused to license any facilities in which he was involved. 

Also, he fraudulently received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Maryland Medical Assistance Program benefits by falsifying his residence and income. Though he moved to Pennsylvania, he continued to receive Medical Assistance and SNAP benefits from Maryland by lying on his applications for those benefits. Additionally, he significantly underreported his income to obtain benefits. As detailed in the indictment, his standard of living was inconsistent with his claimed income; for example, he owned properties in Kissimmee, Florida, and Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, as well as two Bentley motor vehicles. Source: oag.maryland.gov

ABC Capital employees created fake email addresses, forged signatures, falsified wire transactions and faked deeds as part of a scheme to defraud unsuspecting overseas investors seeking to purchase Baltimore real estate, according to the latest lawsuit over the company’s collapse...An attorney for a group of jilted investors who filed the suit, said the evidence indicates “one of the largest real estate frauds in modern Maryland history.” Source: thebanner.com

After new criminal referrals, Baltimore residents are seeing exactly why it's so important that the city inspector general have the tools she needs to conduct oversight. Source: Editorial, Baltimore Sun

The Supreme Court of Maryland restored the law license Friday of Annapolis power lobbyist Bruce Bereano, more than 26 years after it disbarred him in the wake of a federal mail fraud conviction linked to his lobbying firm. Source: MarylandMatters.org

The legislation comes after inspectors general in several justifications in Maryland have been denied access by various agencies, citing the Maryland Public Information Act...Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi said. “Only recently, in early 2026, was I, for the first time, denied a record that we had requested for an investigation.” Source: https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/full-public-records-exemption-for-igs-is-unlikely-senate-president-ferguson-says

An unofficial deadline is quickly approaching for the legislation as well: Crossover Day, March 23. If a bill hasn’t made it out of one chamber by crossover day, it typically means the proposal is dead for the year. So far, the MPIA exemption legislation has yet to make it out of committee in either chamber. Source: https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/frustration-builds-among-igs-as-bills-to-give-them-mpia-exemption-stall-in-annapolis

The ”Public Information Act - Inspectors General - Access of Public Records” is Senate Bill 0911  cross filed with House Bill 1620

Maryland residents lose an estimated $1.7 billion a year to online scams, according to a new report that shows Americans as a whole are bineg tricked out of $119 billion a year-- far more than official estimates suggest. Source Patch.com

Also, see the report entitled The Scam Economy: The True Cost of Online Scams and Crimes in America. Source: consumerfed.org

Baltimore's inspector general said her office uncovered possible fraud within the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE). The IG said the possible fraud includes the exposure of juvenile information and is part of the ongoing investigation into a now-ended youth diversion pilot program. 

The report claims  fraudulent invoices were uncovered concerning the SideStep Pilot Program, which ended in 2024. According to the report,"the OIG has referred these fraudulent invoices to law enforcement." Source: WBALTV.com and Baltimore City IG's Public Synopsis of Case #25-0046-I: Criminal Referral of Fraudulent MONSE Inovices & Data Breach