Severn Man Charged with Stealing over $70,000 in Overtime From Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

 

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced the indictment of Brent Spooner of Severn.  Charges in the indictment include a theft scheme between $25,000 - $100,000, 32 counts of theft, and misconduct in office. The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

The investigation revealed that the since July of 2019, Spooner, a lieutenant of DPSCS, was engaged in a scheme to steal overtime from the State of Maryland.  Lt. Spooner, supervisor of the Jessup firearms range, is responsible for the firearms training and recertification of employees of DPSCS.  On his timesheet, Lt. Spooner would falsely claim approximately 80 hours of overtime each pay period.  Lt. Spooner would indicate that he was working in one of the guard towers at JCI or MCIJ, two nearby Maryland correctional facilities.  As a supervisor, Lt. Spooner was able to subvert the normal overtime process and receive payment with no supporting paperwork or use of  DPSCS’ biometric clock-in system.

Once Lt. Spooner’s scheme was discovered, investigators of the DPSCS were able to perform anticipatory surveillance of Lt. Spooner.  During time periods for which Lt. Spooner later falsely claimed to be working overtime in a surveillance tower, he was observed to be at home, running errands, walking his dog, and other personal activities.  Documentation kept in the Maryland correctional facilities showed that different employees actually worked the overtime shifts Lt. Spooner falsely claimed he worked.  In total, during the course of the scheme Lt. Spooner stole approximately $74,000.

“Lt. Spooner stole taxpayer dollars by falsely claiming a large amount of overtime,” said Attorney General Frosh.  “When state employees lie about the hours they work, they are stealing from the honest, hardworking public servants and the taxpayers whom they serve.”

“Corrections and community supervision are all about integrity,” says DPSCS Secretary Robert Green.  “We initiated this investigation and moved aggressively, contacting the Office of the Attorney General as soon as we learned there may have been improprieties.”