CURRAN GETS CONVICTION AGAINST IMPOSTER SOCIAL WORKER

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Larry Dexter Williams, 34, currently residing on Goose Landing Circle, Columbia, was convicted in Anne Arundel County District Court with practicing clinical social work without a license and misrepresenting that he is a licensed clinical social worker. Calling the circumstances "shocking" and noting that Larry Dexter Williams' offenses involved a daily routine of lies, the Honorable Essom V. Ricks, Jr. sentenced Williams on the charge of practicing clinical social work without a license to 90 days in jail, suspending all but 30 days; a $500 fine, suspended; and three years of supervised probation. As a condition of probation, the court ordered Williams to undergo a psychiatric or psychological evaluation and treatment. Judge Ricks imposed a consecutive 90-day sentence on the defendant for the charge of misrepresenting himself as a clinical social worker, imposed another $500 fine, before suspending both.

The offenses occurred between February 21, 2000 and July 23, 2001. Larry Dexter Williams was hired by Vesta, Inc., a behavioral health care agency, as Coordinator of the Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) grant program. The TAY program was established so that young adults already in the public mental health system could receive comprehensive counseling, education and assistance to learn skills for independent living. Dexter Williams was hired based upon his representations that he had a masters degree in social work, the requisite clinical social work experience, and that he was licensed in Maryland as a clinical social worker. As TAY Coordinator, Williams was responsible to identify and provide the services and training needed by the clients, as well as the development of their treatment plans.

The Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency, Inc., a core agency for the TAY program, complained to Williams' employers about his job performance. Williams resigned from Vesta, Inc. on or about July 24, 2001. Further complaints by Anne Arundel Mental Health Agency lead to the State's investigation, which determined that Williams has never been licensed as a clinical social worker. Furthermore, the masters degree diploma and LCSW-C license that he submitted to his employer were fake.

Dexter Williams faces additional charges in Baltimore County District Court. The trial date there is scheduled for October 21, 2002.

This case was prosecuted by the Criminal Investigations Division of the Attorney General's Office, with the assistance of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners.

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