Twyla Garrett/Investment Management Enterprise Inc./IME Services Inc.

Transcription

1 Twyla Garrett/Investment Management Enterprise Inc./IME Services Inc. SUMMARY: Twyla Garrett s companies were recently awarded two major federal contracts, worth over $1.85 million total, even after she had been indicted in the Baltimore City Circuit Court for charging the city $180,000 in work that was not done. Her company ultimately pleaded guilty on the charge, in exchange for the dropping of charges against Garrett personally. Company Addresses: Maryland Incorporation The company s incorporation with the Maryland Secretary of State displays Garrett s name and two addresses: 8016 Shadowberry Place, Richmond, VA and Turnberry Circle, Ft. Washington, MD (Maryland Entity Search,

2 2010 DC Court Case A 2010 court case in Washington, DC demonstrates that IME Services Inc. is the same company as Investment Management Enterprise Inc. In May 2010, Twyla Garrett signed to receive lawsuit papers against IME Services. When IME Services lost the case and only had $40 in its bank account, over $21,000 was garnished from the bank account of Investment Management Enterprise Inc. in May (Docket is in reverse chronological order.) (Washington DC Online Case Database)

3 A pair of federal tax liens demonstrates that Investment Management Enterprise Inc. also uses an office at 1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington DC. Lien #1: (DC Recorder of Deeds, Document )

4 Lien #2: (DC Recorder of Deeds, Document ) 2015 Maryland Court Case & Recent Federal Contracts: Twyla Garrett and Investment Management Enterprise Indicted On Friday, July 31, 2015, the indictment of Twyla Garrett and her company, Investment Management Enterprise, was unsealed in Baltimore City Court. She had been accused of charging the city for $180,000 in work that was not done. An investigation of Baltimore's information technology office has led to the indictment of a contractor accused of charging the city for $180,000 in work that was not done. Twyla Garrett, 43, of Fort Washington is accused of submitting false invoices to the Mayor's Office of Information Technology from Jan. 1, 2013, to Jan. 15, 2014, according to court records and city officials. Her indictment on theft charges was unsealed Friday in the Circuit Court. Garrett's company, Investment Management Enterprises, was also charged, officials said. Oleg Fastovsky, an attorney who represented Garrett at a bail review hearing, declined to comment. Attempts to reach Garrett for comment weren't successful. Howard Libit, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, said the city's inspector general found the alleged theft as part of its broader investigation into claims Baltimore's information technology office paid contractors for work they didn't perform. The investigation was launched in March 2014 after Rawlings-Blake said officials had received "very serious allegations of fraud and abuse." "The reason why the mayor has increased funding and other resources to the inspector general's office is so he is able to participate in more robust operations like this to root out waste, fraud and abuse," Libit said. "That's a major goal for the mayor, and this is more evidence that the resources she has devoted to greater ethics and greater transparency are having results." Libit said Garrett's company provided information technology personnel to the city, but he didn't have more details. It's unclear when the inspector general's investigation will conclude. City officials revealed in September that the state's attorney's office was working with the inspector general to investigate the fraud and abuse allegations. The probe has been focused on what the city paid contractors and what work they performed. Rawlings-Blake named Jerome Mullen as her information technology chief in June 2014 when the former head of the office, Christopher Tonjes, resigned. Mullen earned about $153,000 last year. Tonjes, who was placed on

5 administrative leave, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. He said he was resigning after being under an unfair "cloud of scrutiny." He was earning $150,000 a year. The information technology office has been the subject of scrutiny before. The city's previous inspector general examined irregularities under then-director Rico J. Singleton. He resigned in 2012 after the release of a New York state audit that found he had negotiated jobs for his girlfriend and himself while working for that state's information technology office. That scathing report also showed that the office had purchased nearly $675,000 in phone-related equipment under an existing contract rather than seeking new proposals. The probe found potential conflicts of interest and missed opportunities for "significant cost savings." (Baltimore Sun, August 1, 2015; DHS Contract Nearly two months later, FEMA/DHS awarded a $383,990 contract to IME Services, located on Vermont Avenue in DC.

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7 (usaspending.gov) In January 2016, Investment Management Enterprise Inc., located on Shadowberry Place in Richmond, was awarded a contract worth $1.47 million by the Department of HHS.

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9 (usaspending.gov)

10 In February 2016, Investment Management Enterprise Inc. pleaded guilty to the criminal charge in exchange for the charge against Twyla Garrett being dropped. The company agreed to pay Baltimore more than $165,000 in restitution. A corporation formerly contracted to provide information technology services to the city agreed to pay Baltimore more than $165,000 in restitution after a criminal charge against its president was dropped. Investment Management Enterprises pleaded guilty to one count of theft in exchange for the charge against Twyla Garrett being dropped. Baltimore Circuit Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill accepted the plea deal Wednesday. The company was sentenced to three months of probation. The city received a check for the full amount owed during court proceedings. Garrett and her company were indicted on theft charges last year after an investigation by the city's inspector general into the mayor's office of information technology. Garrett, 44, of Fort Washington was accused of submitting false invoices from Jan. 1, 2013, to Jan. 15, 2015, according to court records. Prosecutors alleged that Garrett altered time sheets for one employee and billed the city for more than 500 hours the employee did not work at a total cost of about $73,000. She was also accused of billing the city for 650 hours a second employee did not work, for a total of $93,000. Garrett's attorney, Kenneth Ravenell, declined to comment. The case stemmed from an investigation by Inspector General Robert H. Pearre Jr. that began in March Pearre said the overbilling was not caught by the city because of inadequate contract management and oversight. No Baltimore officials were charged as a result of the investigation. "This case reflects the city's resolve to identify and prosecute corrupt vendor practices, and cases involving contract administration will continue to be a high priority for the OIG," Pearre said in a statement. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is committed to "rooting out fraud, waste and abuse." The inspector general's investigation into the case is closed, according to Rawlings-Blake spokesman Howard Libit. (Baltimore Sun, February 4, 2016) The following information was released by the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City: Investment Management Enterprise, headed by CEO Twyla Garrett, pled guilty to theft of $100,000 Wednesday. The company OVERBILLED the Mayor's Office of Information Technology (MOIT) using its employees' timesheets. Assistant State's Attorney and Economic Crimes Division Chief, Joshua Felsen, prosecuted the case. Working with the Baltimore City Inspector General's Office, investigators learned that Investment Management Enterprise added more than 1,300 hours of additional time to the timesheets of its two contracted employees working for MOIT. The added billings amounted to an overpayment by the Baltimore City Finance Department to Investment Management Enterprise in the amount of $165,520. The overpayments took place over the course of "Tax payer dollars are a crucial resource that is not to be wasted. If you have information regarding waste, fraud, or abuse please reach out to us or the Office of the Inspector General. We take these matters seriously." State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said. As part of the plea agreement, Investment Management Enterprise paid $165,250 in restitution to the State. (States News Service, February 4, 2016)

11 Additional Recent IME/Garrett Issues: 2010 Federal Tax Lien In 2010, IME received a $12,302 federal tax lien in Virginia. (Lexis-Nexis Comprehensive Business Database)

12 Maryland Cases Even before the scandal covered in the press above, Garrett or her companies were the defendants in a long line of Maryland court cases, many involving foreclosures/evictions. And: (Maryland Online Court Database)

13 Past Financial Troubles: Background A February 2008 story in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer covered Twyla Garrett s plans to open up a restaurant/bar/market/coffee shop complex within Stonehenge Square in Cleveland. ( The company she incorporated in 2007 to handle the restaurants was Garrett Entertainment Corp. ] (Ohio Entity Database)

14 Over the next few years, Garrett Entertainment was hit with nearly $10,000 in workers comp liens, a nearly $10,000 federal tax lien, and nearly $2,000 in unemployment tax liens, before losing a $310,000 judgment/eviction brought by Stonebridge against the company. Workers Comp Liens (Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas) Federal Tax Lien (Cuyahoga County Recorder s Office)

15 Unemployment Tax Liens (Cuyahoga County Recorder s Office) (Cuyahoga County Recorder s Office)

16 Civil Eviction/Judgement for $310,634 (Cleveland Municipal Court) Additional Background: IME Website: Twyla Garrett blog : Note: Another blog is so poorly written, it is not likely to be Garrett s own work, e.g. it constantly misspells her own last name: