MARYLAND NEWS

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

Maryland’s Attorney General and 12 other state attorneys general, announced a lawsuit against OneMain Financial, Inc. and related entities (OneMain), alleging that OneMain, a non-prime installment lender, charged consumers nationwide hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful hidden fees and interest.

With 26 branches operating in Maryland, OneMain advertises high-cost installment loans with supposedly “clear, upfront terms,” but it is accused of unlawfully packing those loans, without consumers’ consent or knowledge, with insurance policies and other add-on products which inflate the cost of the loans by hundreds or thousands of dollars. Source: oag.maryland.gov

Recent disputes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County have prompted debate about how independent those watchdog offices are and whether government officials should have power to influence or remove the very investigators tasked with scrutinizing them. The issue has taken on renewed urgency as Baltimore’s inspector general battles City Hall in court over access to records, while a Baltimore County watchdog stepped down after raising concerns about restrictions on her office.  Source: foxbaltimore.com

The Maryland State Senate approved Governor West Moore's choice to be the next State Inspector General for Education. According to her Linkedin profile, Natalia Medina Ahn  has been working as Deputy Legal Counsel for the Governor.  Source: https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/

Defendant also admits to fraudulently obtaining more than $990,000 in COVID-19 relief funds

A Glen Arm man, charged with bribery, admitted to paying at least $25,000 in bribes to a former Baltimore City Department of Finance employee. In exchange, the city employee extinguished various financial obligations the defendant owed to the City of Baltimore.  As a result of the criminal conduct, the City of Baltimore suffered financial losses of more than $145,000. Source: US Attorney, District of Maryland

A  43-year-old Russian national, administered the sale, distribution, and operation of Phobos ransomware. Phobos ransomware, through its affiliates, victimized more than 1,000 public and private entities in the United States and around the world, and extorted ransom payments worth more than $39 million. Authorities extradited the perpetrator from South Korea in November 2024, pled guilty in federal court to wire fraud conspiracy. US Attorney, District of Maryland

Source: baltimoresun.com

Baltimore's mayor should avoid a costly legal fight and allow the city's inspector general to fulfill her oversight role. Source: baltimoresun.com

A new report from the Baltimore Office of the Inspector General found that the Mayor’s Office spent more than $11.5 million in Workday and procurement card transactions between July 1, 2022 and November 17, 2025, including 336 purchases that required — but did not receive — mandatory approval waivers.

The investigation, launched in April after complaints about taxpayer-funded food purchases and internal celebrations, identified $167,455.06 in P-Card transactions that lacked required Bureau of Procurement waivers. Of those, 295 transactions were related to food or catering. Source: shorenewsnetwork.com