A man from Baltimore County has pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing a former official of the Baltimore City Department of Finance. James Carroll Erny, Jr., 55, admitted to paying at least $25,000 in bribes to Joseph Gillespie, who previously worked for the city’s finance department. In return for these payments, Gillespie erased various financial obligations that Erny owed to the City of Baltimore. The scheme resulted in financial losses exceeding $145,000 for the city.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, along with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), and the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to court documents, between December 2019 and August 2023, Erny operated a bribery scheme involving multiple properties he owned in Baltimore City. He regularly paid Gillespie cash bribes—sometimes as much as $1,000 per envelope—while Gillespie was employed at the Abel Wolman Municipal Building. Some exchanges occurred in a men’s bathroom within the building. Bribe payments were also made through digital platforms such as Cash App and Zelle.
In addition to bribery charges, Erny admitted to participating in a separate fraudulent scheme related to COVID-19 relief programs. He fraudulently obtained nearly $1 million through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and attempted to secure over $100,000 via Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.
Erny could face up to 10 years in federal prison on bribery charges. Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett on June 9 at 11 a.m. Earlier this year, Judge Bennett sentenced Gillespie to four years in prison for his role in a wire-fraud conspiracy.
Kelly O. Hayes praised the efforts of federal and local law enforcement agencies involved in investigating the case and acknowledged Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Delaney and Joseph Wenner for prosecuting it.
“U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, SBA-OIG, and BCPD for their work in the investigation,” said Hayes. “U.S. Attorney Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Delaney and Joseph Wenner who are prosecuting the case.”
For further details about resources or reporting fraud cases handled by the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, information can be found at justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
