Perry Hall Man Pleads Guilty in Wire Fraud Conspiracy

A Perry Hall man pleaded guilty to attempting to defraud the city of Baltimore, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, which said he faces 20 years in prison for wire fraud and two years for aggravated identity theft.

Robert Johnson, 33, who worked in consumer relations for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Baltimore, reportedly said that he conspired with a friend who worked in Baltimore City’s Department of Finance to obtain between $70,000 and $120,000 from the city, the report said; all of the stolen money was ultimately returned, according to Johnson’s plea agreement.

Between July 11 and Aug. 2, 2013, Johnson carried out a plan he devised with his friend Denita Hill, who was in charge of reissuing checks to former Baltimore City employees, the agreement said. At the time, Baltimore City employees who left their employment were entitled to a lump sum check accounting for any pay and benefits for which they qualified, according to the plea agreement.

In the fraud scheme, Hill reissued lump sum checks to unknowing individuals who had already received payments; then she gave the checks to Johnson, who signed them over to himself and put them in his bank account, according to the plea agreement. One check, reissued on July 31, 2013, was for $58,485.91, the report said.

When Johnson tried to wire some of the funds to pay off another account, his bank noticed a suspicious transaction and alerted the Baltimore City Inspector General’s Office, which tasked Hill with looking into the matter, the agreement said. Hill tried to hamper the investigation by saying she had spoken with the check recipients, who confirmed they signed their checks over to Johnson, when in fact none of the victims was aware, according to the plea agreement.

Johnson used the funds “for his own purposes or to fund meals and other purchases for the benefit of Hill,” who was considering buying a house and reportedly said Johnson would have to make the down payment, the plea agreement said.

Over the course of the conspiracy, Johnson fraudulently obtained between $70,000 and $120,000, all of which was ultimately recovered, according to the report.

Johnson could face 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and two years for aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. Sentencing is set for Jan. 16, 2015.