Three Baltimore Police Personnel Indicted on Wage Theft, Timekeeping Fraud Charges

Two active Baltimore police officers and a former colleague were indicted Tuesday on charges that they manipulated timesheets, submitted fraudulent medical records, and exploited payroll systems to collect wages they never earned, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office announced.

The Public Trust & Police Integrity Unit brought separate cases against Lt. Welai Grant, Sgt. Mark Rutkowski, and former Officer Harrison Brandon, with the alleged schemes spanning from August 2024 through late 2025.

Grant, who was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and assigned to the Southern District, faces the most straightforward accusations: prosecutors allege she simply did not appear for overnight shifts on eight separate occasions between September and November 2025, while logging those hours on her timesheet and collecting pay for evenings she was not present. She was indicted on one count of theft between $1,500 and $25,000 and two counts of misconduct in office. A conviction on the theft count alone carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

Rutkowski's alleged scheme was more elaborate. According to the indictment, between October 2024 and February 2025, he clocked in when he left his house each day and did not clock out until he returned home, accumulating small amounts of overtime pay for hours he did not actually work. He is also accused of logging into another officer's computer to cancel his own scheduled leave, a maneuver that triggered both overtime pay and "penalty pay" under the police collective bargaining agreement for the canceled time. Rutkowski was indicted on one count of theft between $1,500 and $25,000 and three counts of misconduct in office.

Brandon's case involves a different form of fraud. Beginning in August 2024, he allegedly submitted fraudulent doctor's notes on five separate occasions while still employed as a Baltimore police officer, using the false documentation to claim sick leave pay he was not entitled to receive. He was indicted on one count of forgery, two counts of identity fraud, one count of theft between $100 and $1,500, and two counts of misconduct in office. Each identity fraud conviction carries a potential penalty of up to one year and a $500 fine; the theft charge carries up to six months and a $500 fine, while forgery and misconduct in office carry no statutory maximum. Brandon resigned from the department after being notified of the investigation.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley addressed the indictments directly. "Two of the police officers charged today are current members of this department and have allegedly defrauded the communities we are sworn to protect and serve," Worley said. "These investigations, led by our Public Integrity Division in partnership with the State's Attorney's Office, send a clear message that this conduct will not be tolerated. We will continue to hold officers accountable while preserving the trust placed in this Department."

State's Attorney Ivan Bates' office, which has framed all three cases as theft from the Baltimore taxpayers who fund officer salaries, noted that an individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial.