DC Developer, FBI Agent Sentenced For Bribery, Conspiracy

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD —A former FBI agent and a real estate developer from Washington, D.C., have been sentenced on bribery and conspiracy charges for their role in schemes involving confidential information held by the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development. A jury convicted both defendants of bribery and conspiracy charges in October 2022.

David Paitsel, 42, is a former FBI agent from North Carolina. Brian Bailey, 53, is a realtor who resided in Upper Marlboro. Bailey was found guilty of giving thousands of dollars in bribes to Dawne Dorsey, 40, a program specialist with the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development in exchange for confidential, un-redacted Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act offer of sale notices, which included the names of tenants holding TOPA rights, according to court documents.

TOPA provides tenants living in the District of Columbia with the right to purchase their residence should the owner decide to sell the property. Under TOPA, tenants can reassign their right to purchase to a third party. TOPA requires the owner (seller) to provide the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development with offer of sale notices before the proposed real estate transaction. The offer of sale notices include, among other things, information not released to the public, such as the names of tenants residing at the property, court documents stated.

In a second part of the scheme, Paitsel and Bailey were both found guilty of one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy. Specifically, Bailey paid Paitsel bribes to look up the contact information of the tenants holding TOPA rights, which he did using a database he had special access to as an FBI Agent. Dorsey pleaded guilty to bribery in June 2019.

Paitsel has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for each count to run concurrently, 24 months of supervised release, $100 special assessment and ordered to pay a $10,600 forfeiture money judgment. Bailey has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for each count to run concurrently, 24 months of supervised release, $100 special assessment and a $250,000 fine.