Maryland Correctional Officers, State Employee Charged With Theft, Bribery For Allegedly Altering Timecard Entries
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Baltimore County grand jury indicted two State correctional officers and a state fiscal technician with various charges after they allegedly altered timecard entries so the officers were getting paid for work they did not perform, prosecutors say.
The indictment alleges Correctional Officers Okezie Chidume and Gerald Leon Solomon Jr. conspired with fiscal technician Shantil Carter to alter the timecards.
A grand jury indicted Correctional Officer Chidume with Theft, Conspiracy, Bribery, and Misconduct in Office; Correctional Officer Solomon for Theft, Conspiracy, and Misconduct in Office; and Fiscal Technician Carter for Theft, Conspiracy, and Bribery.
"Allegations that public employees have abused positions of trust to enrich themselves at the expense of Maryland taxpayers are extremely serious and require a timely, thorough and professional response," said Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III. "Our office is committed to investigating and prosecuting where appropriate any allegation of criminal behavior or misconduct by state or local public officials."
The charges claim Carter conspired with other DPSCS employees to inflate their "worked" hours and increased their overall pay by tens of thousands of dollars. Prosecutors also claim the correctional officers made payments to Carter totaling several thousands of dollars.
