Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendant Billed MPD While Working Outside Employment
WASHINGTON – Medgar Webster Sr., 52, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday, in Superior Court, to one count of first degree felony fraud for committing time and attendance fraud on the Metropolitan Police Department. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, and Chief Robert Contee III, of the Metropolitan Police Department made the announcement.
The Honorable Errol Arthur accepted Webster’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for July 25, 2023. As part of his plea, Webster must pay full restitution.
According to court documents, Webster, a former MPD officer and Vice Chairman of the D.C. Police Union, engaged in unauthorized outside employment at three Whole Foods Market locations in Washington, D.C. between January 2021 and April 2022, while concurrently employed by MPD. Although employment outside of MPD may be permitted in certain circumstances, Webster never submitted the necessary administrative forms or received the proper authorizations, which are required by MPD, in part, to maintain records of an MPD member’s hours worked throughout the year.
Acting unchecked during this period, Webster stole more than $33,845 from MPD after billing MPD for regular, overtime and holiday hours that he never worked. In total, Webster worked more than 1,400 hours of outside employment at Whole Foods, of which 514 hours were worked simultaneously with time he fraudulently reported working for MPD. This double-billed time included submissions by Webster for 246.5 hours in overtime pay, at an adjustable hourly rate of $79.67 per hour.
This fraud prosecution is the result of a partnership between the Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, D.C. Attorney General Schwalb, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who investigated and prosecuted the matter, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Bleiberg, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bayly Leighton, on detail from the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute local fraud and public corruption cases.