FORMER STATE EMPLOYEE CONVICTED OF STEALING $28,000

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Stacey B. Brown, 38, of Contee Rd. in Laurel, has been convicted of felony theft in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. Brown, a former Staff Assistant at Bowie State University ("BSU"), pled guilty to felony theft before the Honorable Michele D. Hotten.

Brown worked in Bowie State University’s Department of Education, where her responsibilities included processing invoices for a federally funded grant, known as the "PT3 Grant," which is designed to increase the use of technology in the classrooms at both the college and high school levels. In the court proceedings, Brown admitted stealing $28,000.00 from BSU by submitting and processing seven fraudulent invoices from 2001 to 2003. Brown filled out the invoices in the name of her minor son, and had the checks mailed to her home. Shortly after Brown resigned her position from BSU, a routine audit discovered payments from the grant to Brown’s son, who had not performed any work on behalf of the grant.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2006.

The matter was investigated and prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division, with invaluable investigative assistance by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education and the Maryland State Police.