FBI Baltimore warns of Valentine’s Day romance scams

BALTIMORE, MD—The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Baltimore Field Division is warning local residents of Valentine’s Day scams on the most romantic day of the year. In romance scams (also known as confidence scams), a criminal creates fake profiles on dating sites or social media platforms to trick victims into believing that they are in a trusting relationship—whether familial, friendly, or […]

Maryland partners with CFTC, 26 state securities regulators to stop $68 million precious metals scheme that targeted seniors

BALTIMORE, MD—The Office of the Attorney General’s Securities Division this week announced that it is participating in a multi-jurisdictional, coordinated enforcement action to stop a fraudulent precious metals scheme that resulted in investments exceeding $68 million from at least 450 investors nationwide. The Securities Division has joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 26 other state securities regulators in […]

Attorney General’s office issues consumer alert regarding door-to-door COVID testing

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Office of the Attorney General is alerting residents about individuals and labs offering door-to-door COVID testing. The individuals performing these tests promise prompt results but consumers have reported not receiving results several weeks after the initial test. Consumers have complained that they do not know how their personal identifying information is being secured. Consumers are advised to […]

Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office seizes domain name purporting to belong to U.S. Department of Labor

BALTIMORE, MD—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has seized “US-dolbids.com” which purported to be the official website for the United States Department of Labor. The seizure of the domain was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Cooper of the Division of Advanced Technology and Analytics, […]

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby indicted on charges of perjury, falsifying mortgage application

BALTIMORE, MD—A federal grand jury on Thursday returned an indictment charging Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, 41, on federal charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications, relating to the purchases of two vacation homes in Florida. The defendant will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, but the hearing has not yet been scheduled. […]

Attorney General Frosh urges FCC to stop international scam calls

BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh this week urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put in place measures that will help stem the tide of foreign-based illegal robocalls that attempt to scam Americans. “Americans are sick and tired of spoofed phone calls and illegal robocalls, of not being able to trust their Caller ID, and of being scammed […]

Baltimore County police officer facing federal indictment for allegedly seeking, accepting bribes in exchange for falsely certifying completion of firearms training

BALTIMORE, MD—A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment charging a Baltimore County police officer with accepting bribes. William R. Johnson, Jr., age 32, of Baltimore, has been charged with honest services wire fraud, for allegedly seeking and accepting bribes and kickbacks to falsely certify that applicants for Maryland handgun qualifying licenses (HQL) and wear and carry permits (CCW) […]

Man who stole more than $16,000 in cryptocurrency, orchestrated SWAT attack pleads guilty to aggravated identity theft

BALTIMORE, MD—A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft charges in connection with his involvement in a “SIM swap” and cryptocurrency theft scheme. Kyell Bryan, 20, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to the charges on Tuesday. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James […]