Former Baltimore, Maryland, state delegate Cheryl D. Glenn was charged with bribery and wire fraud, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland.
The news release states Glenn’s federal crimes were unsealed on Dec. 23 and she was charged with federal honest services wire fraud and bribery. The information regarding her criminal activities was filed back on July 23. The news release further stated that Robert K. Hur, the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Jennifer C. Boone, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Baltimore Office announced the charges against Glenn.
Hur condemned Glenn’s actions, saying, “We expect our elected officials to put the interest of the public above their own. We do not expect them to sell their office to the highest bidder. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold accountable those who betray the public trust for their own greed.”
According to the news release, the criminal activities allegedly began from March 4, 2018, and continued through Feb. 11, during which Glenn had “defrauded the citizens of Maryland of the right to her honest services” by accepting bribes from various sources as an exchange for her services as a delegate. July 23 court documents (pdf) state Glenn must forfeit $33,750 as a result of her solicitation and bribery.
The news release further stated that she took the bribes as an exchange for services such as: “voting in favor of a bill to increase the number of medical marijuana grower and processing licenses that were available to an out-of-state company; promising to lead the effort to change the law in order to provide a preference for Maryland residency to in-state medical marijuana license applicants; introducing legislation that decreased the number of years of experience required to be a medical director of an opioid maintenance therapy clinic; and introducing legislation that created a class B alcohol and liquor license in District 45.”
Furthermore, Glenn had taken steps to hide her illicit activities, such as not banking the money she received from bribes, conducting her business with these associates through face-to-face conversations as opposed to on the phone, falsifying documents regarding the $15,000 loan note, as well as falsely stating that the money she received in this duration was from a gift and had no relation to her business as a delegate, according to the news release.
Should Glenn be convicted of the charges, she would face up to 20 years in a federal prison for her wire fraud, and a maximum of five years in federal prison for her bribery charge, according to the news release. Although individuals charged with federal crimes would typically result in a sentence shorter than the maximum sentence, final sentencing would be determined once a federal district court judge had taken U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and further statutory factors into consideration.
Glenn is due for her first appearance and arraignment in court at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2020, at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, according to the news release.
