January 22, 2025: Former Legislative Aide Charged with Felony Theft and Other Charges for Stealing Legislative Scholarship Funds

Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced today that Esther Dikongue, a former legislative aide in the Maryland State Senate, has been charged with felony theft scheme, felony theft, and unauthorized access to a computer system for stealing funds allocated for legislative scholarships.

Members of the Maryland Legislature are allocated funds to award legislative scholarships to students attending Maryland colleges or for Maryland students attending colleges outside of Maryland that offer programs unavailable at any Maryland institution. According to the charging document, Ms. Dikongue worked for a Maryland State Senator and used her position to allocate $20,000 of scholarship funds from the Senator’s Office to her own educational institution without the knowledge or consent of the Senator. She continued to access the Senator’s email address after she no longer worked in the Senator’s Office to ensure she continued to receive the scholarship funds.

“Ensuring that tax-payer funds are used for their intended purpose is an essential aspect of preserving public trust in our government institutions,” said Howard. “Our Office will continue to seek to hold individuals accountable who violate that public trust for their personal gain.” All individuals are presumed innocent.

A copy of the charging document can be found HERE.

Contact media.osp@maryland.gov