MD Woman Pleads Guilty To Bribing DC Police Employee

WASHINGTON, DC — A Maryland woman pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to paying more than $6,500 in bribes to an employee of the Metropolitan Police Department, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.

Michelle Cage, 45, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charge before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Cage was charged with one count of bribery of a public official, which carries a fine of up to $250,000 and penalties up to 15 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Cage admitted to paying at least $6,500 in bribes to an MPD clerk, who provided her with confidential reports so that she could contact and solicit potential clients. The bribes dated back to 2012. Cage launched MC Referrals and Marketing L.L.C. in 2017 to connect people in need of legal representation or medical services to those who could provide those services. For that, she would collect a referral fee from the service providers.

In order to identify potential clients, Cage would obtain MPD Traffic Accident Reports or "D Form 10s," which included contact information of people involved in traffic accidents. However, beginning in 2015, MPD General Order 401.03 limited the release of these forms to individuals involved in the accidents and their representatives. Cage admitted to paying cash bribes of $50 to $200 per week to a clerk at MPD's First District Station to ignore the general order and release the confidential reports to her.

FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division assisted Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin's office in the investigation of this case