BALTIMORE — A new Inspector General report details how the City of Baltimore accidentally deposited more than $2 million into the bank account of an organization that already owed unpaid property taxes.
It all started back in June of 2021, when another company tried paying the City over a million bucks to satisfy a property tax debt.
That's when a vendor contracted by the City to process such payments, somehow managed to incorrectly apply the money to another company's account.
By March of 2022, the vendor realized their mistake and tried reversing the action.
But instead, they issued a refund doubling the money that was sent to the unintended company.
In total the company ended up receiving $2,014,571.63 in erroneous payments.
The owner of that company then reportedly decided in April to deposit that money into their own bank account, later spending $58,000 of it.
Despite multiple letters and subpoenas, the City never recouped the $58,000 but was able to secure the return of $1,956,216.08.
According to the Inspector General, the owner of the company has been referred to law enforcement for potential criminal violations. At the time of the report's release, the company still owed the city more than a thousand dollars in back taxes.
In response to the report, the City's Department of Finance said the vendor so far has been unable to recreate or explain how the payment was duplicated.
As for how the initial payment ended up in the wrong company's account in the first place, the City blamed that on a key in error that transposed the digits.
