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Former Dunbar Coach Pleads Guilty in $215,000 Overtime Fraud Case

Sentencing remains to be set under guidelines of about two years after admissions of false COVID-era security claims.

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Dunbar Poets head coach Lawrence Smith, who also serves as a Baltimore School Police detective, during the kickoff of the 2023-24 varsity football season. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff)
Lawrence Dunbar, a former head football coach at Dunbar High School and a police officer with Baltimore City Schools, fraudulently submitted more than $215,000 in police overtime pay for occasions when he was not working. (WBFF)

Overview

  • Lawrence Smith, 51, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to federal wire fraud and income tax evasion tied to overtime he claimed as a Baltimore City Schools police officer.
  • He admitted he falsely reported working security at testing and food sites or assisting other agencies while he was at home, at Dunbar, on his boat, or on vacation.
  • Investigators documented more than 3,300 fraudulent overtime hours over several years and roughly $215,000 in improper pay, including $94,500 from October 2020 to October 2021.
  • Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher did not set a sentencing date, and advisory guidelines indicate a prison term of about two years along with restitution and fines.
  • Public records reporting shows City Schools paid Smith through Sept. 6, 2024 while he was on leave, and questions persist about recoupment and oversight after he was promoted during the probe.