A 40-year-old Baltimore County woman has been indicted on charges that she billed the city school system for more than $100,000 in tutoring services that she never provided, the state prosecutor's office announced.
Prosecutors say that for three years, Tracy Denise Queen (seen at right) submitted false documentation and invoices to the school system for tutoring services for special education students through her home-based company Queen's Mobile Education.
School officials terminated her contract last year after discovering the scheme, but not before she had billed more than $100,000 for services that were not provided. Queen, who in an online resume says that she worked for 10 years overseeing special education services for the city school system, is also charged with attempted theft for invoices she submitted that were denied after officials realized the scheme.
State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh said one of his first cases involved a group of people who conspired to defraud the city school system out of more than $4 million. Fourteen people were charged in connection with that scheme, which included charges of bribery and billing the city for unnecessary work.
"Six years later, we're still here," Rohrbaugh said. "Where's our state legislature in making sure the money they appropriate is properly used? The city schools system only has … three auditors for a billion dollar budget. Outrageous."
In a statement, he said "stealing from the school children of Baltimore City is a reprehensible offense that will not be tolerated."