Wednesday, at the Federal courthouse in Downtown Baltimore, former Baltimore City Schools Police Officer Lawrence Smith was sentenced to one year and a day in jail.
Smith, last October, pleaded to wire fraud and tax evasion. He admitted to stealing $215,000 in overtime as a school police officer.
In addition to his prison sentence, Smith will have more than $215,000 in restitution to pay to Baltimore City Schools and $61,233 in restitution to the IRS.
Project Baltimore first reported on Smith nearly four years ago when the FBI began investigating payroll irregularities in City Schools.
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In January 2023, Project Baltimore first exposed that Smith was logging police overtime when he appeared to not be working. We uncovered Facebook Live videos that show Smith driving a boat on the Chesapeake Bay, coaching football, or on vacation when his overtime forms suggest he was working. Eight months after Fox45 News aired that report, Smith was indicted.
But our reporting was not over.
Fox45 learned, in 2024, after Smith was arrested Baltimore City Schools continued to pay him for nearly an entire year – even after he had been accused of stealing more than $215,000 from taxpayers.
At the time, leadership from City Schools refused to interview with Project Baltimore about Smith still being paid. But the school system said in a statement, “Per Mayland law, City Schools reserves the right to recoup any compensation.”
According to a letter submitted to the court by City Schools, the district has requested Smith pay back $111,397 that City Schools paid him while he was on paid administrative leave following his 2023 arrest.
Follow Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst on X and Facebook. Send news tips to cjpapst@sbgtv.com
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