FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, February 10, 2022

District of Columbia Fire/EMS Employees Arrested on Charges Alleging Bribery Conspiracy

Defendants Accused of Accepting Bribes to Benefit a Contractor

            WASHINGTON—Two District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) employees were arrested today on conspiracy and bribery charges for allegedly accepting payments from a District of Columbia contractor in exchange for directing purchase agreements and orders to the contractor and then falsely certifying that goods that FEMS had paid for had been delivered.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            Louis “Joey” Mitchell, 50, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and Charity Keys, 43, of Bowie, Maryland, are charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with bribery and conspiracy.  They are to make an initial appearance today in the District of Columbia before Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather.

            According to court documents, Mitchell, a FEMS warehouse supply technician, and Keys, a FEMS contract administrator, accepted bribes over the course of several years—including a bribe of $20,000 each—from the owner of a Maryland limited liability company contractually obligated to provide various goods to FEMS and other District of Columbia agencies.  In exchange, Mitchell and Keys allegedly directed purchase agreements and purchase orders to the company and confirmed delivery of and payment for goods that the company did not deliver.

            A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            This case is being investigated by FBI’s Washington Field Office and D.C. Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by the Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.