Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that Cheryl Leigh Gray, 49, of Middletown, Maryland, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for Frederick County to one count of theft scheme having a value of $100,000 or more.
Gray was a licensed insurance producer working as the operations manager at Passport Title Services, LLC (Passport Title), located in Rockville, Maryland. Passport Title conducts real estate settlements in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. From May 2016 through July 2021, Gray engaged in a continuous scheme to steal $369,492.01 from Passport Title. The funds consisted of settlement proceeds waiting for disbursement in underlying real estate transactions handled by Passport Title.
Over the six-year scheme, Gray used her position as operations manager to execute 58 wire transfers from Passport Title’s escrow accounts, transferring the funds to her personal bank account maintained in Frederick County, Maryland. Immediately after entering the guilty plea, Judge Julie S. Solt sentenced Gray to five years of incarceration, suspending all but one year. Upon release, Gray will be on supervised probation for five years and will be required to pay $63,536.46 in restitution. Prior to the guilty plea and sentencing, Gray repaid $305,995.55 to the victim. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Brown thanked his Criminal Division, specifically the Fraud and Corruption Unit and Assistant Attorney General Timothy Lake, who prosecuted the case. Attorney General Brown also thanked Maryland Insurance Administration Forensic Auditor Suzzanne Jones and Investigator William Wagner.
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