MoCo Police Officer Charged With Fraud, Perjury

A Montgomery County police officer faces 25 years in prison on charges of fraud and lying in testimony during a workers’ compensation claim.

Gilbert L. Payne, who left the Baltimore City Police Department on a full disability pension in 2007, has been charged in Baltimore City Circuit Court with perjury and felony workers’ compensation fraud, according to the Office of the State Prosecutor.

Authorities allege that Payne falsely testified under oath at a September 2008 workers’ compensation hearing that he was not employed at the time, nor had he been employed since retiring from the Baltimore City Police Department. In fact, Payne was then employed full time as a Towson University police officer.

The charging document alleges that as a result of the fraud, Payne received about $30,000 in payments to which he was not entitled.

State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt said in the release, “Testifying falsely under oath and making false statements in order to fraudulently obtain additional workers’ compensation funds is never acceptable. It is particularly egregious, however, when such acts are committed by a police officer sworn to uphold the law.”

A trial date has not been set. The perjury charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. The fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of $15,000.

Payne was hired by the Montgomery County Police Department on July 12, 2010, and is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the trial and administrative investigation, the department says.