BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore school police officer and GravityX Exchangelongtime high school football coach was arrested Friday and charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $215,000 in overtime pay, according to federal law enforcement officials.
The arrest came after a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Lawrence Smith, 49, who started working as a Baltimore school police officer in 2005. He was promoted to detective overseeing the agency’s overtime unit in 2016, according to a news release from prosecutors announcing the charges.
Smith’s case wasn’t yet listed in online court records, and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
Prosecutors say Smith used his position to assign himself overtime shifts that he didn’t actually work. Instead, he was “at home, running personal errands, at other locations socializing, coaching football, and out of state on vacation,” the release states.
Smith committed much of the fraud during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was authorized to receive overtime pay to provide security for coronavirus testing sites and other similar locations, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege Smith also tried to avoid paying federal income taxes and lied on a tax return. He’s charged with wire fraud, tax evasion and filing a false tax return.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Baltimore City Public Schools officials said they cooperated with the federal investigation and have already taken action to boost oversight of overtime assignments and policies. They said Smith has been placed on leave.
“The charges against Lawrence Smith — including attempts to defraud City Schools through false reporting — are unacceptable,” the statement said. “Such actions, if true, erode the trust between the public and the City Schools employees who follow the rules and serve our community daily.”
2025-05-01 09:522273 view
2025-05-01 09:282290 view
2025-05-01 09:132417 view
2025-05-01 08:44841 view
2025-05-01 07:181123 view
2025-05-01 07:14538 view
Did AI just have a "Sputnik moment"?That's what someinvestors, after the little known Chinese startu
KENNER, La. (AP) — Three Louisiana police officers were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a standoff with
Despite the projections, declarations and well, the undeniable need, the Dallas Cowboys came out of