Baltimore city officials have enacted new policies to strengthen financial security after a scammer defrauded the city out of $1.5 million. The theft, which involved a fraudulent switch of bank account information for a city vendor, led to two substantial payments being mistakenly sent to the scammer instead of the intended recipient.
A WBALTV report, citing an inspector general’s report, reveals that approximately half of the stolen funds have been successfully recovered by the city. The current recount amounts to $721,236.60, while the remainder appears tied to proceedings and efforts to ideally retrieve the balance. Inspector General Isabel Cumming underscored the critical nature of vigilance, telling 11 News Investigates that one should "Take control of the situation" and always verify financial details.
The Office of the Inspector General for the City of Baltimore was alerted to the fraudulent activity after the vendor's bank account details were altered, as detailed in a report by Fox Baltimore. This change caused two payments, originally intended for the vendor, to be erroneously sent to the fraudster, amounting to a total of $1,524,621.04 between February and March of 2025.
Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry has confirmed, in response to the incident, that new safeguards have been put into place to prevent a similar occurrence. The Department of Accounts Payable has since filed an insurance claim for the unrecovered funds and has reissued payments to the vendor for the full amount. According to the Inspector General’s findings, a lapse in the internal policies and procedures within the Accounts Payable Department contributed significantly to the breach of city funds.
