Security News > 2022 > June > Former US state agency CIO, IT exec plead guilty to bribery and extortion scheme

A former Maryland Cabinet-level official and a former IT executive have pleaded guilty to involvement in a bribery and extortion scheme related to technology contracts about a decade ago.

According to the US Attorney's Office of the State of Maryland, Isabel FitzGerald, 52, of Annapolis, Maryland, and Kenneth Coffland, 67, of Riva, Maryland, pleaded guilty last week to charges of bribery and extortion, respectively.

FitzGerald resigned from DHR as of October 2011 but from December 2011 until about a year later, she served as a consultant to her successor at DHR. Coffland resigned from ACS/Xerox in September 2011 after FitzGerald had given notice that she intended to step down.

Days after his resignation, Coffland started work for a second company that was responsible for reviewing ACS/Xerox's contract and for reporting this information to DHR - while FitzGerald was consulting for DHR. By December 2012, FitzGerald had rejoined DHR - she was appointed Deputy Secretary for Operations of DHR and reported to the DHR Secretary.

As part of her guilty plea, FitzGerald must pay $38,310 in restitution.

FitzGerald faces up to 10 years in federal prison for bribery involving an agent acting on behalf of a program receiving federal funds.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/06/15/maryland_bribery_extortion_charges/