A USA TODAY investigation of 15 of the largest and hardest-hit states found hundreds of millions of dollars in sole-sourced, non-competitive awards went to vendors that have been accused of defrauding taxpayers through the False Claims Act...USA TODAY combed through more than 1,600 COVID-19 contracts with no competitive bids awarded through May 18 to vendors from 15 states, including the largest and some of those that have experienced the worst coronavirus outbreaks: Alaska, California, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Maryland...Source: USA Today 

The allegations underlying the charges against Abramoff, 62, of Silver Spring, Md., ...are contained in two separate documents...According to the allegations, Abramoff and another person conspired to make false and misleading statements to potential purchasers of a proposed new cryptocurrency called AML Bitcoin. The information filed against Abramoff also alleges that he knowingly and corruptly failed to register as a lobbyist, as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act...This is the first ever known prosecution of a lobbyist for a criminal violation of the Act...An information and an indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Source: U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't review a D.C. Circuit decision affirming a Maryland woman's conviction on charges of health care fraud and money laundering, despite her argument that her case was wrongly dragged out.Source: Law360.com

Investigators say a suspect traveled to Maryland from New York with intentions of using a fake ID to get a bank card. Source: CBS- WJZ 13

Payments made by Maryland’s quasi-governmental auto insurer to then-Mayor Catherine Pugh for her amateurish Healthy Holly children’s books violated state law, according to a letter state regulators sent to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and obtained by The Baltimore Sun. Source: Baltimore Sun

Maryland’s new Inspector General of Education hasn’t even fully moved into his office yet, but his work protecting your tax dollars has already begun. Source: WBFF-Fox45.

According to Expert Insurance Reviews, Maryland and New York tied for 11th place for having the most fraud related to the pandemic. The study found that U.S. residents lost over $5 million to credit card fraud in under five months. Source CBS Baltimore (WJZ)

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