The COVID-19 economic shutdown is expected to lead to a surge in white-collar crimes, from the immediate problem of price-gouging personal protective equipment to insider trading on companies slammed by the crisis to accounting fraud, said a panel of experts convened last week by the University of Maryland. Source: The Crime Report.org

“...These types of tools can be used to inform human judgment, but they should never be replacing human beings,” said Frank Pasquale, a law professor at the University of Maryland who studies accountability in the use of these opaque algorithms. One of the big dangers, he said, is that the systems fail to give people due-process rights. Source: The Atlantic

A retired senior with a limited income received an email with details on a data entry position...However, the modest proposition turned into a money pit. With her offer letter, she received a check and instructions to send several payments to cover office expenses. Source: WMAR-ABC 2, Matter for Mallory

Riots devastate businesses in the rage of the riot and the damage and destruction caused by the rioters. The events in April and May 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland show the results of damage caused by riots and rioters. Riots, like natural disasters, can invite insurance fraud and claims for damages to people who suffered no loss including some who are not even in the city where the riot or disaster took place. Source: Law.com

AARP Maryland is warning of a new scheme targeting Maryland’s Hispanic/Latino communities...Victims told AARP's Fraud Watch Network the scammers threatened to report their targets to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding their undocumented status, if they attempted to back out of the investment. Although the victims in the four reported cases are documented, they raised concern about how many people have continued to invest out of fear of deportation. Source: AARP Maryland and En español.

People posing as insurance agents or as representatives of a company are marketing fake health, life and travel insurance products, mostly over the telephone, through email or over the internet. These scammers usually try to solicit private information from individuals such as bank account information or credit card numbers. Source: Maryland Insurance Administration

Payments fraud was already rising, and now experts predict increased online usage brought on by stay-at-home orders will only exacerbate the trend...The Annapolis, Md.-based Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc. said Tuesday it has updated one online-authentication standard and issued a new one in response to fraud attacks since the onset of the Covid-19 restrictions. Source: Digital Transactions

Baltimore's board has returned few decisions and hasn’t filed an annual report in six years... The City Council has approved a measure which will move the ethics board into the office of Baltimore’s Inspector General. Source: WBFF- Fox45 News

The Office of the Inspector General found poor cash handling procedures and a lack of internal controls related to inventory that led to mismanagement and the opportunity for theft of City funds. Source: Baltimore OIG report.

Former running back Clinton Portis has asked a Kentucky federal court to transfer charges that he defrauded a league health plan to either Virginia or Maryland, saying prosecutors are trying to make him "stand trial hundreds of miles from his home." Source: Law360