The City of Baltimore has been navigating the fallout of a scandal involving the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and the potential use of fictitious names on contracts for the city's Safe Streets violence prevention program. In a recent interview, FOX Baltimore reported, Inspector General Isabel Cumming pointed out the inclusion of suspicious names, such as "Susan Smith II," in the OIG report, stating that "it was a little bit obvious" that these individuals under contract did not exist.
In the same report, the Inspector General's office identified 26 names that may not be valid, and no records were found to support the existence of nine employees. With this information, the OIG has turned the case over to law enforcement for potential further investigation. Amidst these events, Mayor Scott confirmed that one person at MONSE had been fired.
These unusual occurrences came to light following an investigation into MONSE's handling of employment contracts for Safe Streets, which is overseen by the office and operated by two contractors. As documented in a WYPR report, MONSE employees appeared to have encouraged the use of fake employee names to get around city policy — a practice underscored by an email put forward by the OIG, stating, "Off the record, neither MONSE nor the audits team will verify the individual, so we really just need a name that doesn’t sound fictional."
Despite the misstep, MONSE has stated that no funds were disbursed to any non-existent employees, as detailed in the report. In response to the OIG findings, Stefanie Mavronis, Director of MONSE, highlighted their commitment "to completing a thorough review of payroll and timesheet records to ensure that grant funds used to pay for salaries and personnel were appropriately used." As Mavronis wrote, if financial mismanagement was evident, the agency was prepared to take necessary action, according to WYPR.
MONSE is improving its grant management process to ensure stricter checks on contract submissions. Policies now allow job titles in contracts without requiring specific names. Inspector General Cumming advised reviewing contracts for false information and ensuring contracts are executed promptly to protect the city from risks.
