April 6, 2018: Rebecca Drew, Statement of Facts in Support of Guilty Plea

STATEMENT OF FACTS IN SUPPORT OF GUILTY PLEA

The Defendant, Rebecca D. Drew, served as the duly elected Register of Wills for Allegany County from August of 2006 until her resignation on August 15, 2017.

In January of 2017, the Office of the Attorney General forwarded a referral received from the Maryland Comptroller’s Office concerning alleged thefts and misconduct in office by the Allegany Register of Wills to the Office of the State Prosecutor. Investigation revealed that, between July 5, 2016 and December 20, 2016, Ms. Drew, while serving as the Allegany County Register of Wills, had stolen approximately $4,309.00 from the State of Maryland by using the office credit card and bank account for personal expenses.

Specifically, analysis of bank and credit card records indicated that Ms. Drew wrote eight State account checks, totaling $2,643.00, addressed to and signed by herself and deposited those checks into her personal account and used the State credit card to pay for personal items, totaling $1,660.00, such as cigarettes, groceries, and Ocean City hotel bills.

In September of 2016, Ken Smith, the Director of Administration & Finance for the Maryland Comptroller’s Office, noticed twelve suspicious charges on the State credit card from July and August of 2016 and questioned Ms. Drew about these expenses. In an email response, Ms. Drew admitted that the charges were personal but stated that “[she] obviously continued reaching for the wrong card.” Ms. Drew eventually repaid those expenses. In late October of 2016, however, there were four additional impermissible charges on the State credit card, to include cigarettes and groceries. Ms. Drew never responded to Mr. Smith’s repeated inquiries concerning these charges. Eventually, the Comptroller’s Office cancelled the card and garnished Ms. Drew’s wages to recover the money. When confronted by Mr. Smith about the aforementioned State account checks deposited into her personal checking account, Ms. Drew initially admitted by email that they were “inappropriately issued” and indicated that she would repay the State. When, however, confronted by Investigators from the State Prosecutor’s Office about the same checks in February of 2017, Ms. Drew then claimed that they were reimbursements for legitimate business expenses and that she would provide documentation and receipts within days.  In spite of repeated inquiries over the next two months, Ms. Drew never responded nor produced any supporting documentation.

State Investigators would identify the Defendant and all these events occurred in Allegany County, State of Maryland.

___________________________

Emmet C. Davitt

Maryland State Prosecutor

300 E. Joppa Road, Suite 410

Towson, MD  21286

(410) 321-4067