A 55-year-old Glen Arm man pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing a Baltimore City finance employee and fraudulently obtaining nearly $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
What’s Happening: James Carroll Erny Jr. admitted to paying at least $25,000 in bribes to Joseph Gillespie, a former Baltimore City Department of Finance employee, to eliminate financial obligations Erny owed to the city. The scheme cost the city more than $145,000.
What’s Important: Erny owned at least eight properties in Baltimore City and routinely paid bribes between December 2019 and August 2023 to have unpaid citations, tax obligations, and water bills delayed, removed, or eliminated. He delivered cash in envelopes, sometimes meeting Gillespie in a men’s bathroom at the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, and also paid through Cash App and Zelle.
The COVID-19 Fraud: Erny separately admitted to fraudulently obtaining $996,240 in Paycheck Protection Program funds and attempting to obtain more than $100,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds.
What’s Next: Erny faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for bribery. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled sentencing for June 9 at 11 a.m. Gillespie was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2025 for wire-fraud conspiracy.
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