Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 1 of 6

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IN THE IJNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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RECENED

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Fo R TH E D lsTltlc'r o F M A R YLA N D
U N ITED STA TE S O F A M ER ICA

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TA W AN NA P.G A IN ES,
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D efendant

BY

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DEP;TY

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(W ireFraud,18U.S.C.j1343;
Forfeiture,18U.S.C.j981(a)(1)(C),
21U.S.C.j853,28U.S.C.j2461(c))

IN FO R M A TIO N
COUNT ONE

(W ireFraud)
The United StatesA ttorney forthe D istrictofM aryland chargesthat:
lntroduction

A talltim esrelevantto this Inform ation:
M arvland State Government
The GeneralA ssem bly wasthe State ofM aryland's legislative body. The

bicnm erallegislature w ascom posed ofthe Senate,with 47 Senators,and the H ouse ofD elegates,
w ith 141 D elegates.
M aryland state law required certain State officials,em ployees,and candidates for
oftice to tile annualtinancialdisclosure statem ents.

The M aryland State Ethics Com m ission,as directed in GeneralProvisionsA rticle

j5-205,administeredtheprovisionsoftheMarylandPublicEthicsLaw.

 Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 2 of 6

TheDefendant

4.

DefendantTAW ANNA P.GAINES (ûIGAINES'')wasaMaryland State

D elegate from D ecem ber2001 through the present,representing D istrict22,w hich covered
portionsofPrince G eorge's Cotm ty,M aryland. O verheryears in the H ouse ofD elegates,
G A IN ES held m any com m ittee assignm ents,including vice-chairofthe Appropriations

CommitteeandAssistantM ajorityLeader. Asanelectedofficial,GAINESowedadutyof
honestservicesto the State ofM aryland,Prince G eorge's County,and theircitizens.

TheM arvlandStateBoard t?fElectionsandRezulated Canpaizn Committees
The M aryland State Board ofElections regulated state and localelections in
M aryland and w as charged w ith ensuring com pliance w ith both state and federalelection law sas

itrelatedto electionsthatoccurredwithintheirrespedivejurisdictions.TheStateBoardof
Elections m aintained a database ofcam paign donationsforstate and localelection cam paigns
and enforced M aryland'scam paign finance law s.

TheçsFriendsofTawamzaP.Gaines''(hereinafterûCFTPG'')candidatecommittee
wasthe nam e ofthe cam paign tinance entity forthe G A IN ES cam paign for M aryland State
Delegate from the date ofitsestablishm entin June 2002 through the present. FTPG w as a

regulated stateelection campaign comm ittee. FTPG held abank accountatBank ofAm erica,a
tinancialinstitution insured by the FederalD epositlnsurance Corporation. Separately,
G A IN ES held and had exclusive controlovera Paypalaccountused to acceptelectronic

donationsto FTPG . The FTPG Paypalaccountw asnotdisdosed in State cam paign finance
filings.

 Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 3 of 6

7.

UnderM arylandCode,Election Law,j 13-218,thecampaigntreasurer(andnot

thecandidate)wasresponsibleformaintainingtheassetsofacampaignfinanceentity.

Similarly,underj13-218(b),thecampaign financeentity'sassetsçûmaybedisbursedonlyifthey
have passed through the hands ofthe treasurer''and only tlin accordance w ith the purposesofthe
entity.'' Candidates,including G AIN ES,w ereprohibited from personally m aking

disbursem ents from a cam paign finance entity.

8.

lnaddition,underj13-220,acampaign tinanceentityçfshalldeposital1funds

receivedinadesignated campaignaccount''and,subjecttocertainexceptionsinapplicabletothe
conductdescribed herein,m ay only m ake disbursem ents from itsbank accountby check or
electronic m ethod thatis,specifically notby cash w ithdrawal.

Underj13-221,thetreasurerûcshallkeep adetailed andaccurateaccountbookof
allassetsreceived,expendituresm ade,and obligationsincurred by oron behalfofthe entity,''

andûûgelachexpendituremadefrom acnmpaignaccountshallbesupportedbyareceipt.''
Cam paignsforstate offices in M aryland w ere required to file certain cam paign finance reports
w ith the M aryland State Board ofElections.
The Schem e to D efraud

10.

From atleastin oraboutJanuary 2015 through in oraboutApril2018,in the

D istrictofM aryland and elsewhere,GA IN ES devised and intended to devise a schem e and
artifice to defraud FTPG and the cam paign contributors ofFTPG ,and to obtain m oney and

property from FTPG and the cam paign contributors ofFTPG by m eans ofm aterially false and
fraudulentpretenses,representations,and prom ises,w ith the intentto defraud and w ith

knowledgeofthescheme'sfraudulentnature(çûtheschemetodefraud'').

 Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 4 of 6

M anner and M eans ofthe Schem e to D efraud
Itw aspartofthe schem e to defraud that:

G A IN ES w ould solicitcam paign fundsfrom contributors on the representations
and prem ise thatthe ftm ds would be used to facilitate herreelection and m aintain herleadership

positions within the M aryland GeneralA ssem bly.
12.

G A INE S w ould acceptdonations from certain cam paign contributorsinto the

FTPG Paypalaccount.

G A IN ES,withoutauthorization and in violation ofM aryland cnm paign finance
law s,w asa signatory on the FTPG Paypalaccountand w ould utilize cam paign fundsfrom the
FTPG Paypalaccountforherpersonaluse.

G A IN ES w ould receive cam paign contributionsand convertthem to her own use
w ithoutcausing the contributionsto be identitied on reports m ade to the M aryland State Board
ofElections.
The C harae

On oraboutAugust20,2017,in the D istrictofM aryland and elsew here,the

defendant,
T AW A NN A P.G AIN ES,

forthe purpose ofexecuting and attem pting to execute the schem e to defraud,know ingly
transm itted and caused to be transm itted the follow ing by m eans ofw ire com m unication in

interstatecomm erce:awire comm unication sentoutside ofM aryland regarding a $125 cash
w ithdraw alfrom the FTPG Paypalaccount.

18U.S.C.j 1343

 Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 5 of 6

FO RFEITU R E A LLE GA T IO N
The United StatesA ttorney forthe D istrictofM aryland furthertindsthat:

Pursuantto FederalRule ofCrim inalProcedure 32.2,notice ishereby given to the
defendantthatthe U nited States w illseek forfeiture aspal4 ofany sentence in accordance w ith

18U.S.C.j981(a)(1)(C),21U.S.C.j853(p),and28U.S.C.j2461(c),intheeventofthe
defendant'sconviction on CountOne ofthis Inform ation.
W ire Fraud Forfeiture

Upon conviction ofthe offense setforth in CountOne,pursuantto 18 U .S.C .

j981(a)(1)(C),thedefendant,
TA W AN N A P.G A IN E S,

shallforfeitto the U nited States any and allproperty,realorpersonal,w hich constitutes oris

derivedfrom proceedstraceabletosuchoffense,includingbutnotlimitedtoamoneyjudgment
ofatleast$22,565.03 in United Statescurrency.
Substitute A ssets

If,asa resultofany actorom ission ofany defendant,any ofthe property

describedaboveasbeingsubjecttoforfeiture:
calm otbe located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
hasbeen transferred orsold to,ordeposited w ith,a third person;

hasbeenplacedbeyondthejurisdictionoftheCourt;
d.

hasbeen substantially dim inished in value;or,

hasbeen com m ingled with otherproperty w hich cannotbe subdivided
w ithoutdifficulty,

 Case 8:19-cr-00468-TDC Document 1 Filed 10/07/19 Page 6 of 6

theUnited States,pursuantto21U.S.C.j853(p),asincorporatedby28U.S.C.j2461(c),shall
be entitled to forfeiture ofsubstitute property up to the value ofthe forfeitablepropel'ty described
above.

18U.S.C.j981(a)(1)(C)
21U.S.C.j853(p)
28U.S.C.j2461(c)

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RobertK .Hur
U nited States Attorney